The Manipulator 2
by Mental-Voodoo
Summary: A sequel to THE MANIPULATOR. The ending of that story just SCREAMED for a sequel, so I made one. This is seven years in the future and Midori is a twenty-three year old cop working under Near's wings in Los Angeles, California. Who is the new Kira?
1. Surprise

_It's been seven years.  
Los Angeles, California. USA:_

I sat on the cobblestone in fear as the gun in the mans hands collided with my forehead. It was dark, around 3AM, and there was no one else in the park but me and the gang standing above me. My hands began to shake as I waited for the trigger to pull, but it only seemed as though these guys were toying with me.

"Riu, go on, shoot the girl!" one of the men said, slapping his friend on the back. "It's not like she can stop you."

I pressed the button on my belt buckle, hoping that the man with the gun wouldn't notice. "Don't move!" he said after I had pressed the button. The man holding the gun bent down to his knees so that he was only inches from my face. It took everything in my will to stop myself from spitting at him.

"Your ignominious end..." he paused and loaded the gun, gripping the trigger as he held it to the temple of my head, "has arrived."

Quickly I shut my eyes and pulled out my handgun, that was hiding in my back pocket of my jeans, and held the barrel to his chest. "...You all are under arrest for aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon." I whispered, keeping my eyes shut.

The man and his gang all froze as sirens blurred and two units with four cops began to surround the area. They answered my call when I had pressed the button on my belt buckle, giving my location. "Get down on the ground, all of you!" Clark, a lieutenant, demanded, loading his gun.

The gang refused at first and contemplated running for it, but there were too many cops. All of the members were soon taken into custody, except for the one that was still kneeling in front of me. He and I still remained in our positions, our triggers screaming to be pulled.

I glanced around at the cops surrounding us, all of who were holding guns in there hands as well. They wouldn't fire though; there wasn't a good reason. They'd get in trouble if they did. My glance turned back to the tall rugged man in front of me, who was smirking with diligence.

He couldn't be any older than me.

My brain was telling me to shoot the gun, but my heart was telling me to wait for an opening. I wasn't all that sure which to go with. If I shot him, I could say it was self defense, and if I hit him, he would have a massive headache.

I gripped the butt of my gun, readying myself to punch him with it as he jumped to his feet and sprinted out of the area, passing all four cops. I turned my head and watched him run, never in my life had I seen someone run that fast.

Except for Light Yagami.

My head flushed with memories from the past as I stared up at the starry sky, officers surrounding me and helping me to my feet.

"Ms. Tota, are you injured?" Tazuna asked, depositing his weapon into its holster and grabbing my arm.

I shook my head no and shoved my weapon into his hands, announcing to him that I didn't want to deal with shit like this anymore.

"Ms. Tota, you-- wait!"

I started to walk away, trying to get the grueling images of Light out of my head. If anyone at headquarters found out that I had been an accomplice of Light, I would be convicted for sure.

I had to put that aside for now, there would be no thinking of that again.

No thinking of Kira.

--

I have been a detective as a cohort of Near for about a week now, working in Los Angeles with the SPK (Special Provision for Kira) after the incident back in Japan.

According to Near I am the most obnoxious when it comes to the cases we receive. I had to admit, I wasn't the best addition to the investigation team, but I made myself stick out. I was only twenty-three, making me the youngest on the investigation team.

Near remained in his swiveling computer chair and watched numerous monitors that showed different locations. It was amazing to me that this _kid_, only nineteen years old, was one of America's best detectives. At age _nineteen!!_

He had solved every case we recieved in less than a period of two weeks. Except for one. The one we were currently still working on.

I concealed myself at my desk and began surfing the web for the search inquiry 'Light Yagami'. Almost 700 results appeared on my computer screen, all of them consisting of on-line newspapers or chat rooms dedicated to him.

Everyone seemed crazy about Light being Kira, but it just seemed like old news now.

He was gone, and so was Kira.

Done.

Tired of reading the old news, I stood up from my desk and walked into the co-ed bathroom. The reflection in the mirror seemed distorted, almost broken, as if I were back seven years, back at my freshmen year of highschool.

I splashed some water onto my face to calm myself down and stared back into the mirror, only to see the one thing that annoyed me most.

Ryuk, Light's shinigami, was standing behind me with a devious smile on his broad face. I splashed my face once more, hoping that it was just a hallucination, but, unfortunately, it wasn't.

"Ryuk?!" I whispered, looking in the stalls for anyone doing business. "What the hell? What are you doing here?!"

"Wherever the death note goes, I go." Ryuk said, chomping on an apple in my backpack. "That's the rules."

"What the fuck are you talking about? I don't have the death note!" I said, drying my face. "Light Yagami was the last to have it, and he's _dead_.″

I choked on the last word. Ryuk laughed maniacally, like he always did, and ate the last bit of my apple. "Apparently someone hasn't checked their 'special belongings account' in quite sometime. How long has it been? ...Seven years?"

_My special belongings account?_

"What? The death note is _not_ in my safety deposit box. Light is _dead. _How could Light possibly have put the death note in there?"

He sighed heavily, as if I were stupid, and crossed his legs in mid-air. "Haven't you ever heard of 'earthbound spirits'?" he asked. I stared at Ryuk with confusion. _Ghosts_? "Light Yagami's spirit still lives on, it's just that you puny mortals can't see it."

I stood with the shinigami as time seemed to slow. Ryuk wasn't making any sense to me, but something was telling me that he wasn't lying.

"...In fact...Light is in this very room...at this very moment." Ryuk whispered into my ear, chuckling.

I tried to remain calm. Light's spirit? I couldn't decide if I were happy or scared. My stomach filled with butterflies, but the room seemed to be spinning.

"Too bad." he said, looking at his long finger nails out of boredom. "If you had taken the deal I struck you back then, you could have the shinigami eyes; You would be able to see Light."

"Ryuk! That was _years_ ago!!" I whispered loudly, clenching my fists. My blood was boiling from the frustration as I moved towards Ryuk, angrily.

The lights went out as he and I were engulfed by darkness. What the hell? What was going on?

_This isn't Light... It can't be..._

I noticed two glowing red eyes, which I immediately recognized as Ryuk himself. At least he was still here. Although, what good was he? He wouldn't do anything, he'd_enjoy_ my terror.

I spun quickly on my heel and faced the mirrors, seeing my reflection stare back. stare back at me. Suddenly, a crack in the mirror appeared and Light, or rather Light's ghost, stood behind me in the mirror, stroking my hair sensually. He leaned closer to my neck and breathed slowly, but warmly.

"...Miiidddooorrriiii." His eyes glowed just as red as Ryuk's through his bangs, as I realized that Ryuk was no longer in the bathroom.

_When did he leave!?_

I shut my eyes and canceled everything out. Light kept at it, enjoying the terror in my eyes, almost as much as Ryuk may have. There was a knock at the door as the lights suddenly turned back on.

Light's ghost was gone, Ryuk was still gone, and the mirrors on the walls were shattered, glass lying everywhere. Blood trickled down my hands as glass shards punctured my flesh.

″Midori, are you all right?″


	2. Liar

"What the hell?! I can't find it!" I yelled angrily, throwing my junk everywhere in my room. The death note wasn't turning up anywhere, and Ryuk specifically said that it was in my safety deposit box. "If you lied, Ryuk, I'm gon--"

I pulled out a black note book with white writing that said 'Death Note' on the front. As I sat on my bed, I skimmed through the pages and noticed that none of the pages were filled. In fact, I found a note that I had left Light that said:

_It's for your own good._

"Oh my god." I said, throwing the death note on the ground angrily. "Ryuk! What the hell! This is the FAKE death note!" I screamed, louder than I would have liked. Ryuk flinched as I threw the pen near his head. He put up his hands for protection and tried to get me to stay calm.

"N-now, now, Midori, I'm sure the real death note is so--"

"--You lied to me...?" I clenched my fists and slowly started walking towards the trembling shinigami. "Ryuk, you lying little bas--"

The doorbell rang as I glared menacingly at Ryuk. He was lucky he was saved by the bell. I slid down the stairs and unlocked my door, swinging it open.

My face went pale as I stared in shock.

Misa Amane, model, actress, and movie star, was standing in my doorway.

"M-Misa?" I stuttered, trying not to slam the door right in her face. I had a few run ins with her in the past, and they were all pretty bad. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

When Light had "pretended", yes, pretended, to be the new L after Lawliet's death, Misa came with him to America. And after Light died, she decided to stay here, afraid that going back to Japan would bring back to many memories.

She is just as popular in America then she was in Japan.

She looked up from the ground and right into my eyes. Suddenly, she burst out crying and flung her arms around me, sobbing into my shoulder. "Oh, Midori! I can't take it anymore!" she announced, bawling her eyes out.

I stumbled backwards and tried to pull her off of me, but she wouldn't budge. "Wh-what are you talking about?" I asked. Misa and I never really got along, so I wondered why she was here now, visiting me. How did she even know where I lived?

"I can't take being a famous celebrity anymore." she explained. "Of course, when Light was still alive, I could easily get through the pressure. He was always so supportive of me..."

_Ha, Light? Supportive?_ I asked myself, rolling my eyes. _The only thing that Light was good for was killing..._

"Misa, why don't we take a walk." I suggested, pulling her off of me. "Maybe we can get things off of your mind."

Misa wiped away her tears as I looked at the make-up stains on my shirt. I grabbed my coat and a few bucks as I dragged Misa's depressed ass along with me.

I just want her to leave me the hell alone.

All she reminds me of is Light Yagami.

She dragged her feet slowly behind me as I lead the way, a strong breeze rapidly blowing our hair. Ryuk chuckled to himself quietly behind us.

_I wonder if Misa can still see Ryuk...?_ I thought to myself, glancing at her over my shoulder. _If she can, then that means Near and Matsuda can see him, too. Maybe I should just play it cool and pretend I don't notice him..._

_After all, they never knew that I could see Ryuk because they had never seen me touch the death note...Light's anyways._

Another forceful wind blew as leaves that were scattered on the ground lifted and flew passed Misa and I. She flinched in surprise as I stopped in the middle of my driveway.

Ryuk was floating mid air as he pointed to his left, smirking deviously.

"Guess who?"


	3. The Past Did This To You

Misa and I walked into a small Cafe and took a seat, while by-standers were staring at us with the utmost fascination. Unfortunately, we were granted the table that was placed in the very middle of the restaurant where all of Misa's admiring fans could gaze at her presence.

Misa and I sat across from each other as she grabbed her cell phone and immediately began texting.

"Misa...I understand that you're disappointed, but I'm really not someone to--″

"--Dori, can I see your phone?″ Misa asked, smiling. She caught me off guard as I blinked and quickly snapped out of it. I fished around in my pockets for my phone and handed it to her, just as she asked. She began pressing buttons on my phone and hers, as if synchronizing them.

"Misa, what I'm trying to say is, well... I don't do well with people when they start to cry.″ I explained. "I'm really not a person to confide in. Haven't you forgotten that I'm a cop?″

She completely ignored me and continued to press buttons on our phones. I felt as if I were talking to a brick wall.

"Midori, I appreciate your generosity, and I understand.″ she answered, not bothering to look up from the phones. "It's not easy being a noob.″

I flinched. "A noob? How am I a noob?″

"Well, you obviously have no clue what's going on in this world, you're stubborn and severely annoying, and you're going nowhere in your life.″ she explained, arrogantly I might add. She stopped punching buttons on the phones and looked up at me with her soft blue eyes, smirking wildly.

Just like Light.

"And, you have no idea of my plans.″

Ryuk was behind Misa, laughing hysterically as he fell to the floor, rolling around like a crazed moron. I felt a warm sensation on my neck, but then realized that there was no one behind me.

"Midoooorrrriiiiiii...″

I stared at Misa confusingly and ignored the feelings I had that told me Light was around as the waitress appeared beside our table. "M-may I take your order?″ she stuttered, obviously feeling the tension between Misa and I.

I glared menacingly at Misa as I tried to look through her innocent figure and she looked right back at me, with hatred in her eyes.

Silence.

Of course. I never got along with Misa, even in the past. Something was wrong. None of this was adding up.

_First, she shows up at my house as if she knew where I lived, then begins to cry, then turns into one of Light's little slaves--_

She slid my phone across the table as I grabbed it and stuffed it back into my pocket. The waitress again repeated what she was paid to ask.

"Come back later.″ we both said, not taking our sites off of one another. My Midori-Senses told me that something bad was about to happen, but I couldn't quite figure out what.

"Midori...?″

"What is it, Misa?″

"Light has been speaking with me over these long years.″ she said, unexpectedly. "He's been telling me what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. He even told me where you lived.″

Misa had the shinigami eyes, which I figured out a few years ago after knowing L's real name, so it was possible that she could see Light's spirit. But what was it that Light and Misa were plotting now?

I noticed Misa reach into her pocket and pull out her phone, punching more buttons and putting the phone to her ear. "Misa...who are you cal--″

"--It was the past that did this to me, Midori.″

"What? What are you talking about, Misa?″ I asked, shifting in my seat. "What the hell?! You're not making any sense...″

There was a strong silence as I heard ringing from Misa's phone.

My eyes widened once I realized what she was doing. I quickly grabbed my phone out of my pocket and threw it on the table, having nowhere else to throw it without innocent citizens getting hurt.

"Quick! All of you! Get under the tables!!″ Almost immediately all of the citizens listened and obeyed, crawling under their tables as I remained in my seat. I had no time to move.

The bomb in my phone exploded and sent me flying.

I hit my head on the glass case that held the food display as I tried to bring myself to my feet, but I was too dizzy from the impact. As I scoped the cascaded cafe, I noticed limp bodies on the ground.

Misa's body remained in the chair, her body covered in third degree burns as flesh slowly melted off.

But nonetheless, she was dead. And so was a large amount of people who were in the building. However, I somehow managed to survive the horrible blast. I rubbed my hand against my forehead and noticed blood, lots of it.

Fuck.

_I knew it. __Misa was a suicide bomber for Light, all because she was a love-sick puppy who obeyed her master._

_Dammit, Light..._

I felt my eyelids begin to fall as sirens blurred outside the restaurant.

--

I woke up in the hospital with bandages around my head and in a hospital gown. My head was spinning from the severe headache, and I could barely walk, but I needed to get out of this God forsaken building. I lifted myself to the changing room and quickly threw on my clothes.

The curtain flung open as I quickly covered my bare chest. My partner at SPK headquarters, Takashi, stood staring at me, his cheeks bright red.

"Takashi!! Shut the drape!!″ I yelled, furiously, turning red myself.

He stood there for a second wide eyed and open mouthed. His brain clicked and he fumbled around with the drape, trying to figure out how to close it. "Uhh...sorry, Midori. That was by complete accident.″ he said, his voice cracking. "I thought it was empty.″

"Whatever.″ I walked out fully clothed and headed out of the room, Takashi following closely behind me, trying to catch up with my fast pace. He finally caught up with me and grabbed my arm in the hallway, stopping me in my tracks.

"Woah, woah, girlie.″ he said, flipping his long brown hair out of his face. "Where do you think you're going!? You haven't been discharged yet.″

I glared menacingly at him and tried to get him to let go, but he wouldn't budge. "I don't care. I'm not staying in here. I need to get back to wo--″ He covered my mouth with his free hand and dragged me into the storage closet. Pitch black darkness surrounded us as my heart began to race.

What the hell was he doing?

He pinned me against the wall of the storage closet and held my wrists tightly. My head was spinning again, and I knew that if he pressed any harder, I would explode. "Midori, do you understand how fucking lucky you are to even be ALIVE?!″ he whispered.

"Shut up, Takashi.″ I said, arrogantly. "I don't need you telling me how to live my life. I'm perfectly capable of doing so my--″

There was a click, and I felt something hit against my abdomen. "...It's too bad that you didn't die back there. With your attitude towards others, Ms. Amane would have been doing us all a favor.″

What the hell? Was this dickhead really saying all this? Was he really going to kill me? And in a storage closet? No...too much evidence. He'd be found easily. "You bastard, put away your gun!″

"Look, Midori, you know I care for you, but, if you can't figure out the right things to do, then...what's the point in living?″ he asked, loading the gun. He leaned in closer and his warm breath scurried down my neck. Takashi appeared in front of my face with his beady green eyes glowing furiously.

His hand met with my cheek as I stood in shock and suddenly, his lips locked with mine. My face twisted in agony and disgust as I tried to push him off of me, but he was about twice my size. His tongue licked my bottom lip, begging for entrance. I refused, but he bit down hard on my lip, forcing my mouth to open.

A loud sound was made as a bright and blinding flash lit the storage closet up for one brief second. There was a sharp pain in my stomach as I felt blood dripping down my flesh. I slid down the wall as Takashi kept his lips locked with mine.


	4. Agony

I woke up in an agonizing scream as Takashi held me closely. My eyes scoped around the area and I realized that I was still in the rubble of Cafe Petite. _It was...just a...dream?_ I punched Takashi in the chest as he let go of me.

"What...what the hell was that for?″ he asked, coughing slightly.

I stared in confusion. I wasn't dead, the cafe was still a mess, most of the bodies were covered, and my head was still bleeding rapidly. Takashi recovered from my painstaking blow and grabbed my shoulder. I knocked his hand off and stood to my feet.

Without asking, I headed into the rubble of the restaurant and right towards Misa's lump of flesh for a body. It was a gross and disgusting sight, but I had to do find something I was longing for.

A black notebook, not at all burned by the blast, was sticking out of Misa's purse, beckoning me to grab it.

I reached into her melted purse and grabbed the perfectly well kept notebook. Misa's death note... I flipped through it rapidly and noticed millions of names, even my own.

That makes two death notes that I had survived.

Quickly before anyone saw, I shoved the death note into my coat pocket and headed out of the cafe.

Near, who had just appeared at the scene of the crime, pulled me aside and into an ambulance unit. ″Midori, what were you thinking?″ he asked, without any enthusiasm in his voice. ″Hasn't anyone ever taught you to never give your phone to anyone?″

I looked away, scared of making eye contact with Near.

It was weird to see him outside, because he was usually _inside._

″Here, take this one.″ he said, handing me a new phone. ″And don't give it to anyone.″

He stood up and slowly walked over to the L.A.P.D and began speaking, continuously twirling his hair.

My pager went off as I grabbed it from my belt and looked at the number. Amazingly it hadn't been damaged in the blast, much like Misa's death note. Mikami Teru was paging me, a close friend, and boyfriend, from UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles.

He obviously couldn't reach my phone...

I didn't answer him. I had no way too. Besides, my mind was too occupied at the moment, especially if Mikami wanted to get together today.

To my surprise Takashi jumped into the unit and sat beside me. The doctor, rather the nurse, appeared beside me and held up disinfectant. I shot up and grabbed the nurse's wrist as he began to spray, telling him that it was stupid to put disinfectant on an open wound.

″But, if we don't, then it will become infe--″

″--Yeah, I know, infected.″ I said, arrogantly. ″That's where the name 'dis-in-fec-tant' comes from.″

Wow.

Misa was right.

I really _was_ stubborn and severely annoying...

The man grabbed my head and sprayed the disinfectant on the wound as I twitched in pain. He sighed heavily and muttered under his breath, thinking that I wouldn't hear.

″Midori, why don't we go grab a bite to eat?″ Takashi offered, smiling innocently.

″I'd rather not...″ I said, sighing, and looking down at my feet. Takashi didn't know that I was completely afraid of him. He didn't know about the image I had had.

And he _obviously_ didn't know that I was contemplating on writing his name down in Misa's death note.

″Aw, come on.″ he said, playfully, punching my shoulder. ″I don't bite. We'll just go to Sarge's, grab a sandwich, and head home... Deal?″

I glanced over at Takashi and gave a weak smile, stroking the death note that lay in my pocket. ″All right... but you're paying.″

--

Takashi and I sat at the bar, Sarge's, and drowned a few drinks, but, I was a girl that could hold her liquor well. A few men had come up and tried to hit on me, as all men do to women, but there was one who was the worst.

″Hey, lady, I gots a Harley in the back.″ he said, slurring. ″Why don't we go for a spin?″

_Is this code for something? This guy looks like he's been here for hours_!

Takashi stood up and tried to get the man to back away, but I told him it was fine and that I could take care of myself. I stood up in front of Takashi and leaned on the bar, casually staring at my admirer.

″You see, I don't do so well with two-wheeled motorized objects...″ I said. ″But, then again, I doubt you even have one...″

The man stumbled and glared menacingly at me, but his eyes shifted, so it looked like he was looking at Takashi. ″Bah, it doesn't matter. You look like a man anyways.″

Now he _was_ talking to Takashi.

Or he better have been.

″Go drink a few more.″ Takashi said, stepping in. ″Maybe you'll get lucky and wake up next to a beautiful nurse in the hospital.″

I turned around and looked at Takashi as if he were crazy. ″What kind of comeback was _that?″ _I whispered, shaking my head.

How disappointing.

The man pushed me out of the way as I spilled my drink on the bar. Takashi only leveled out to the man's chest, which meant that he had a very big disadvantage. ″Why don't you try one more time...?″

Takashi hesitated. Although I appreciated the fact that he was sticking up for me, I would have liked it even more if he had kept his mouth shut and just let me take care of this. But, no. He was my partner and 'needed to protect me at all costs'.

Even from drunk bastards.

″Look, why don't you just get out of here?″ I asked, stepping in between Takashi and the man. I was shorter than both of them... ″We don't want to waste our valuable time with you. So just leave!″

″So, now you're letting a girl settle your problems?″ the man asked Takashi, laughing. ″Well, she is pretty flat-chested, I suppose she could pass for a guy...″

″What!?″ I yelled angrily.

_I'm not flat-chested..._

I clenched my fists and shot up from my seat angrily, yelling and cursing at the bastard before me. Takashi grabbed me from behind and dragged me away from the drunk.

His strong arms held me tightly around my little frame as he tried to calm me down.

″Midori, please, just relax!″ he whispered, keeping a tight hold of me. My mind flashed back to the image I had earlier. Takashi pinning me against the wall and pulling the trigger of his gun where the bullet met with my abdomen. I squirmed and kicked, desperately trying to get out of his grasp.

He dragged me out of the bar like a little kid who was crying about nothing in particular. He went into the alleyway where the bar's dumpsters were located and pinned me against the brick wall.

I kicked again, even harder, aiming for the soft spot.

″Midori, what the hell is wrong with you!?″ Takashi asked, staring into my eyes. Ryuk appeared behind him as I stared in shock, but at the same time, I suppose I was happy to see him. ″Why are you acting like you're afraid of me!!″ Takashi yelled, angrily, banging me hard against the brick wall.

He must have realized how rough he was being because he took a few steps back, right through Ryuk. I slowly slid down the brick wall and buried my face in my knees, hiding my fear.

Ryuk chuckled like he always did and pointed behind Takashi.

″Guess who's here?″

I scoped the alleyway, hoping that, by magic or some other powerful being, I would be able to see Light's spirit. But I could not.

I wasn't ready for what happened next.

Takashi grabbed his chest and winced in pain, falling to the ground on his knees. I looked down at him confusingly, as if this were a ploy to get my attention, but that's when I noticed it. Quickly I comforted Takashi as he yelped in pain and swore like a sailor.

He was having a heart attack.

_But... how?_ I asked myself, my eyes beaming with fear. _I didn't write his name in the death note..._

I grabbed his hand and pounded on his chest, hoping to get his heart steadily beating again, but it was no use. Within 40 seconds, Takashi had passed. His eyes were wide open as the life seemed to have been drained out of them. I quivered in fear as Takashi's limp body lay on me.

But, didn't I _want_ to kill him in the first place? I dialed 911 on the phone that Near had given me, my fingers trembling and my voice broken.

″...He had a heart attack...″

--

Takashi was on the ground behind the bar, his body limp and his face drained of color. I had sat here with him for about an hour now, waiting for Near to return my call. It was bad enough my partner was dead, but knowing that he had passed of a heart attack was even worse.

″D'you think it was 'Kira'...?″ Ryuk asked, chuckling.

_I thought we got rid of all this Kira nonsense years ago..._

I rested my head against the brick wall, letting the cool air relieve me of all my stress. Something kept telling me that I wasn't fit enough to be a cop, but I pushed it aside.

Takashi was dead, and, because he died of cardiac arrest, Near would think Kira had attacked.

I stared up at the dark starry sky, trying to clear my mind.

My gaze avoided Takashi's body. I couldn't stand to look at him. His body was limp, his face was drained, and his eyes were glassy, as if he were in a state of shock. Slowly I crawled toward Takashi's body and reached out my hand, moving towards his pocket.

Maybe he had a--

I jumped from shock as my spare phone, the one Near had given me, began ringing loudly, scaring me out of my own skin. Quietly I sat down and calmed myself to a desirable level and opened my phone, ignoring Ryuk's uncontrollable laughter.

″Hello...?″

″Midori, I heard about Takashi. What is your location?″ Near asked through the receiver. Over the phone he sounded like a girl, like a ten year old girl, but I knew it was him. He gave off a good vibe when I was around him and even when I talked to him.

″I'm on twenty-third street. Northwest.″ I replied, glancing back to Takashi's pocket.

″All right. Is Taka--″

″Yes, he's here.″ I said, uncomfortably. ″Just... can you hurry?″ There was a brief silence, and I heard Near make some orders, followed by 'yes, sir's'.

″Midori, they're on their way.″

Click. He'd hung up. Obviously, when Near meant 'they', he meant _them_, as in, not him. Honestly, I wanted Near to show up instead of a whole gang of units, but I should have known better.

Near hardly ever leaves the office.

I shut my phone and set it beside me, glancing back at Takashi. Abruptly I moved back closer to him and reached into his pocket quickly, before the SPK showed. I pulled my hand out of the pocket, holding a wallet. Not what I was looking for.

I opened it anyway and skimmed through it. As I was looking, a paper fell to my knees near Takashi's hand. Without thinking, I grabbed the paper and unfolded it, my eyes shifting back and forth at the names on the paper.

_Donovan Tennyson. Hit by a truck while running a red light; Kamerynn Redd. Suicide; Kal Snyder. Shot with a gun seven times by Military Police._

No...

_Takashi...? Kira...? Takashi couldn't be Kira, there's no way. _

I dropped the paper and attempted to move towards Takashi, but suddenly stopped. Ryuk smiled widely and began laughing again.

″Calikarcha! Long time, no see...″ Ryuk said, greeting his fellow shinigami.

I wanted to scream... loudly. Surprisingly I was frightened by this shinigami, he was by far very very strange-looking and scary. His face reminded me of a Balinese bird mask, having eight eyes lined up in two rows on each side of his head.

″Ryuk, you didn't tell me that your human was such a wimp.″ Calikarcha said with triumph. ″Look at her. She can hardly even look at me.″

I took a deep breath and exhaled silently.

Takashi had a shinigami. But how come I could see it...?

_The paper!_

Because I touched the paper of Takashi's death note, I can see his shinigami. Just like the rules say in all death notes:

_'__The human who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note.'_

″Well, Calikarcha, you _are_ quite a sight.″ Ryuk said, chuckling. ″I can understand why Midori would be such a weakling in your presence...″

I crawled towards Takashi again, shuffling quickly through his pockets, looking for a death note. Nothing. I couldn't find it.

″I wouldn't waste your time.″ Calikarcha said, crossing his arms. ″The dipstick doesn't even have a death note.″

_What? How is that possible? I can see you, damn shinigami, he has to have a death note..._

″Then, how does he have paper from a death note?″ I asked, standing to my feet.

Calikarcha, I could tell, was just as annoying as Ryuk. With his laugh, his games, and that devilish little smile... he_ was _worse then Ryuk.

″He _found_ that piece of paper.″ Calikarcha said, stifling a yawn. ″The original owner died. Dumb ass got stuck in between rail road tracks... There are papers all over the rail roads, in tiny little pieces, but the death note itself is lost...″

_He found the piece of paper...?_″That's why I've been stuck following this guy around.″ he sighed, as if Takashi was the worst death note owner. Even if he only owned a _piece _of the death note. ″He's all 'this is great evidence', blah, blah, blah, 'I'll be promoted to head chief if I show this to Near', blah, blah, blah.″ Calikarcha explained.

Takashi always told me how he'd one day be promoted to head chief, but I didn't believe him. He told others, sure, but they never had faith in him either.

″Besides, he never actually _wrote_ on the piece of paper...″ Calikarcha announced. ″He was useless, so I wrote his name on one of the papers from the death note...″

I looked down at Takashi with sympathy, then up at Ryuk. _Shinigami can kill their human owners?_

_Was that how Light died?_

Suddenly I was a bit terrified of Ryuk.

Sirens blazed and the alley we were in lit up in red and blue lights. The units had arrived, finally. Only two police cars pulled up to the bar, hoping not to make a scene, and stepped out of their cars.

I was relieved to see Clark and Kat step out and make their way towards me and Takashi's body, followed by two coroners. Kat pulled me aside while Clark remained with Takashi's body and the coroners.

″Midori, you need to come back with me.″ she said simply, pointing to her car.

I stared at her blankly.

″There's a call for you back at headquarters.″


	5. Deals

Kat drove me back to headquarters and lead the way up to the SPK main room, even though I knew the way. She opened the door with a quick swipe of her card as I did the same, following her in as I first noticed Near at the telephone.

Six others were located around a square table with tape recorders and tracking software, desperately trying to trace the phone call.

Near turned in his seat and twirled his hair, facing me and holding the phone with his hand, a gesture for me to take the phone. I walked slowly towards the phone and took it from his hands, putting the cool plastic to my ear.

″...Hello?″

″Midori Tota, it's been awhile.″

Who the hell was this? It was easy to tell it was a man, but his voice was deeply _deeply_ disguised, high and low voices all crushed together. I swallowed a lump in my throat and felt my heart pounding in my chest.

″...Who is this?″

″That's not important right now.″ he said abruptly. ″But, how about this: we'll make a little deal.″

I stopped and glanced at Near, who kept his same, expressionless face locked onto me.

″What's the deal?″

″There's just one thing I want.″ he said.

″What_ is_ it?″ I asked angrily, quickly losing patience. Near and the others all looked at me, headphones on and ears wide open. ″Just tell me.″

″I want the death note.″

I froze.

_The death note? The American N.P.D doesn't have the death note. Japan has it still, after all these years._

_Of course, I do have Misa's death note... But Light's death note is in Japan, nonetheless._

″We don't have the death note.″ I said, calmly. ″You're targeting the wrong agency.″

″I don't think so.″ he said over the receiver. ″You've something of mine, and I've something of yours.″

″Near, we have a lock on the location.″ Lewis said, one of the most dedicated investigators on the team. Near twirled in his seat again and played with that one lock of hair, staring at the computer screen that displayed the location of the caller.

″What do you have of mine...?″ I asked, narrowing my eyes and listening closely to the background.

″How about I send you a photo? Just, look closely.″ Click.

″We lost the location, Near.″ Lewis announced, scratching his head. ″...Sorry.″

Near grabbed a toy car and rolled it across the smooth black desk in front of him. ″No need to worry, Lewis. I already wrote down the address.″

I dropped the phone on the table and waited anxiously for any picture mail, but nothing was happening. ″Do you think he was lying?″ I asked. ″What if he really doesn't have something of--″

A picture popped up on the large computer screen in front of Near as we all stared at the monitor. There, tied and blindfolded in a chair, was Matsuda.

Everyone's gazed turned to me as I stared at the picture, deciding whether or not it was recent. I felt my heart sink into my stomach. ″Near...?″

He didn't bother turning in his seat, he just stared at the photo for as long as I.

″Where are they...?″

He picked up the napkin he used to write down the address and glanced at it once or twice. ″The software said the call was made in a residential lot in Los Angeles.″

They, whoever they were, had gotten my brother, who was previously in Japan, all the way to America. It explained why Matsuda hadn't contacted me in awhile, but to smuggle him into Los Angeles, right under our noses, was insane.

Why didn't anyone notice?

I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Matsuda's cell phone number. The dial tone suddenly turned into continuous ringing, but no one was answering.

″The number you have dialed is not available. Please hang up and try again.″

Feeling my fears take over, I sat in a chair next to Near and put my head on the desk, trying hard to think. Near poked my shoulder to gain my attention and pointed to the date and time on the picture.

″He's all right, Midori. At least we know he's still alive. The date and time say April 27 at 7:57PM.″ he explained, giving me a weak smile. "That's today."

I gave one back, but obviously didn't mean anything by it.

″Lewis, I want you to contact the Japanese P.D immediately, and playback the phone call to them. If they have the death note that this man wants, ask them to hand it over.″ Near demanded, typing locations on the keyboard.

Lewis grabbed a phone and hurried out of the office, going to a place where no one would be distracted.

″Kyle, go grab the fake death note that Midori constructed and bring it to me.″

He ran out of the office after Lewis and down to the lobby, where the safe was located behind a portrait of the Mona Lisa.

″And, Kat, take Midori to this address and make sure that, if anything bad happens, you have my number dialed and ready to call.″

I shot up in my seat and stared at Near like he was crazy. "I don't think that's--"

"Good luck, Midori."

--

22904 79th avenue northeast.

An abandoned apartment building. Burnt down in a fire and barely standing.

Kat pulled her sports bike up to the curb and turned the engine off. She'd make me go in alone, for that was the caller's orders, but I wanted some form of protection.

Kat was good with guns, whereas, I could barely pull a trigger without shaking uncontrollably.

I didn't grab my gun, Kat told me not to. She said that they'd most likely threaten to kill me and take me hostage if they saw me as a threat. Instead, she gave me her .22 to hide in the back of my jeans.

I opened the door to the front lobby of the apartment. There was no lights, which made the area very dark. Ashes and remains of objects lay on the floor, making for a difficult obstacle.

I took three steps forward and was grabbed from behind, a hand swiping over my mouth and a strong hand holding my wrists behind my back. Because they were behind me, I couldn't see them at all.

I began to shake, fearing that these would be my final moments on Earth.

We started moving. We descended down a flight of stairs and through a wooden door, into a basement where one light hung from the ceiling. The basement was the only room, it seemed, that wasn't at all damaged by the fire.

I was pushed onto the floor, landing on my hands and face. Three pairs of shoes surrounded me, making for three rugged men staring down at me. Matsuda wasn't in the basement.

″Get her up.″

I was grabbed by my arms and lifted to my feet, two men tightly holding me. As I looked up, ignoring the pain that the two goons were conflicting in my arms, I was surprised to see a cohort of Near's, and an old friend of mine.

″...Mello...″

He was dressed in all black, tight leather pants and a black open vest, revealing his bare chest. Mello was chewing on a chocolate bar as he peered though his thick blonde bangs at me, his beady blue eyes connecting with mine.

Ironically, he was wearing a crucifix around his neck.

″I_ told _you it's been awhile, Midori.″ he sneered, taking a few steps closer. ″Do you have it?″

I looked away arrogantly. He was disgusting. To think that he was actually one of my old friends from seven years ago made me want to hurl. He was younger than me, by two years, and always seemed older.

″Come on. Hand it over!″ he demanded. ″I'll do a _full _body search if you don't give it up now.″

_If Mello does a full body search, he'll find my gun..._

I dropped my head in defeat and could feel him smirking. He took a few steps closer and lifted my chin, staring deeply and wildly into my eyes. ″Its in my coat...″

Mello took another step and let go of my chin, searching through my jacket for the death note. He pulled out the death note and looked down at it with amazement.

″So, this is the source of Kira's powers...?″

″Where's Matsuda?″ I asked, watching Mello chew on his chocolate. He skimmed through the notebook as if he didn't even hear me. ″Where is Matsuda!?″ I snapped, propelling myself forward, desperately trying to gnaw at Mello.

″Relax, will you?″ he said, arrogantly. ″I'll tell you where he is if you do one more thing for me--″

″No!″ I said. ″We made a deal! Now where is he!?″

Mello came face to face with me, his eyes wandering up and down and his mouth turning into a smirk. ″It really _has_ been awhile.″

They all laughed, laughed like they were ahead of the game. And they were. Mello's eyes kept wandering, they wandered every inch, as if he were burning the image into his mind.

″He's behind you.″ Mello said, pointing. I looked over my shoulder and noticed Matsuda standing on a stool with his red tie around his neck and his mouth taped shut. ″Make one wrong move, and the chair comes out.″

_This isn't fair..._ I thought to myself. _If Mello does take out the chair, then it would look as if Matsuda had committed suicide... __Mello has the upper hand..._

″What do you want...?″ I asked. ″I already gave you the death note.″

″But, I want something else.″ he said, rubbing his chin and snacking on his chocolate, putting the death note in the back of his

″...What?″

Mello looked up and smirked widely, his beady eyes penetrating right through me. To think that he had turned into something so terrifying and disgusting made me almost sick to my stomach.

″I want a different hostage.″

--

Mello tied me to a beam that supported the upper level of the apartment building, announcing that if I made any cries for help, that he'd kill me right here. The other two went upstairs to throw Matsuda out of the building.

At least he was safe...

″Mello, why don't we see if the death note works?″ the man said, eager to see it's power.

″No, Rod.″ Mello said, standing inches from my face. ″When you've got a pretty lady as a hostage, you let these things happen on their own. Believe me. We'll be killing plenty with this thing.″

_No you won't, Mello. __That there's the fake death note..._

My phone rang, startling all of us down here. Mello reached into my pockets and pulled out my phone, looking at the caller ID and holding it in my face. ″It's a blocked number. It says its 'private'.″

Mello flipped open the phone, put it on speaker, and told me to answer it. ″...Hello?″

″Heeeyyyy, Midori! What's up!? Wh-why aren't you home?″

I looked at the number on the phone. This was the SPK headquarters number.

_Near...?_

For a guy with no expression, he really was good at acting. If it weren't for the number on the phone, I wouldn't have ever known it was him. ″Oh. Well. I'm kinda...I'm out with some friends...?″

Mello smirked and nodded his head, a sign that I had done just what he wanted. I could tell he didn't know who it was, which was amazingly a surprising thing.

He'd known Near forever, and yet, he couldn't even recognize his voice.

″Oh, well, whataya say we go out tonight and drown a couple of drinks?″ This was code. Or, so I thought. He had the exact same ideas as L when it came to dangerous things. Exact same.

Almost like the time Matsuda was in a sticky situation...

Near was most likely tracking the call now, just to be sure that we hadn't changed locations. ″Sure. Come and pick me up.″

_Come and get me now...!!_

Now I was speaking in code.

″Great. I'll be there in ten.″ Click. Ten minutes. I could manage.

Mello took the phone and threw it to his buddy. ″Rod, where are Jack and Glen?″ Mello asked, losing his patience and his cool. ″They've been up there forever! Go find them!″

Raido ran up the stairs, three at a time, frightened by Mello's temper. I simply smirked when Mello looked in my direction. _We got him now. Near, you smart little cookie, you._

_You were right, Near. Mello really does let his emotions get the better of him..._

″M-Mello, they're...they're not upstairs...″ Rod returned and mumbled, afraid that Mello might go into a complete outburst. And he did.

″WHERE ARE THEY!?″ he yelled and grabbed Rod by the collar of his shirt. ″WHERE DID THEY GO!?″

″I-I don't--″

″DON'T TELL ME YOU DON'T KNOW!!″ he screamed, slapping Rod's cheek. ″WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!″

Rod shut his eyes and trembled, but Mello kept screaming. He pushed him to the ground and untied me quickly, grabbing me and dragging me outside, just as Matsuda, Kat, and several SPK members bust through the doors

He covered my mouth and put a finger to his lips, telling me to keep quiet. Shots were fired from inside as Mello jumped and dragged me again, this time to a luxurious black Mercedes-Benz.

He threw me in the back, my hands still tied, as he slipped into the front and sped off.

I struggled to get out of the rope bindings around my wrists, but they were too tight. Mello kept looking back at me in the rear view mirror, but I avoided his gaze. Now I was scared. I didn't know that Mello could be so abusive, let alone this frightening.

″Mello, please, what are you doing?″ I asked, sympathetically trying to get him to turn around and take me back.

″What the hell does it look like, Midori?″ he shot back, taking a sharp right turn. ″I know you're not that big of a dumb ass.″

″Turn the fucking car around!″ I yelled, still trying to get myself out of the ropes. ″Now!″

″Fuck no!″ he said. ″You're my ticket to Kira's powers, Midori...You should be honored!″

I shifted in the seat and leaned back against the door, struggling to grab the handle. ″There are other ways to get Kira's powers!″ I explained, grabbing hold of the door handle.

Mello was going so fast, so fast that I was scared to open the door. If I weren't careful, I could kill myself. ″This is the easiest way.″ he said. ″Because you and Near are alliances, if you're gone, I could kill Near, then succeed and surpass him!″

Mello still wanted to surpass Near? I guess that was one thing that hadn't changed.. I took a tight hold to the handle and shut my eyes. _One...two..._

On the count of three, I opened the door and fell out onto my back into the busy highway, watching as Mello sped off, the back door wide open.

I rolled over numerous times as cars halted to a stop and desperately tried to dodge me. Some collided with other cars, others missed and kept going, and others just stopped, staring in amazement at the sight they just saw.

Already I knew my back was bruised, considering the hard fall I had taken, and that something was out of place, or possibly even broken. I tried to stand to my feet, but gave up almost immediately. The pain was too excruciating.

Sirens blared and eight units made a road block. Matsuda was the first one to reach me as he fell to his knees and held my head, trying to ease the pain.

My head was spinning as Matsuda picked me up and carried me to the safety of the sidewalk.

″I'm sorry...″


	6. Triangles

Matsuda decided to stay in America after being kidnapped. He said it'd probably be best for me and him, considering I hadn't seen him in person for about five years.

But, Near had decided to make Matsuda his 'second hand man', which basically meant that Matsuda was always busy and even I, as his sister, couldn't see him.

It was as if he were still in Japan.

I sat quietly on the ground, leaning my head against the wall outside of SPK headquarters. About twenty minutes ago, I had called Mikami, hoping that his charm would make me feel better.

"Midori, you _do_ realize that Mello will want the _real_ death note, don't you?" Ryuk said, Calikarcha and him both standing on either side of me.

"Yeah, what happens then?" Calikarcha asked, smirking. "Does this mean that when he comes back you'll get even more scared and shit your--"

"Midori, what are you doing out here?"

Calikarcha was interrupted by Mikami, who stood tall in a dark suit and tie with an umbrella over his head to protect him from the rain. He stared down at me as Calikarcha made a face at Mikami.

"What is this guy? Some monkey in a suit?" the shinigami asked, causing Ryuk to laugh. "Why is he even wearing that...?"

Mikami bent down to my level and held the umbrella over me, instead of himself, and flipped his long black hair out of his face. "Midori, talk to me..."

I looked up at Mikami and stared into his beady black eyes. He had a good sense of righteousness, which I liked about him, but he seemed too devoted to God. It was as if he were dating God instead of me. Besides, something didn't seem right about him today...

Almost as if he knew something I didn't.

"Mikami, I think I just need to be alone..." I said, looking down at my feet.

He stared at me confusingly through his bangs. If you looked at Mikami carefully enough, he looked almost like Light, just with darker, longer hair and a better sense of justice. "But, Midori, you're the one who called me..."

I didn't respond. Ryuk and Calikarcha were still laughing at the pathetic fool in front of me. I didn't appreciate their judgments, duh, but I couldn't help but agree with them.

"This guy misunderstands _everything..."_ I heard Calikarcha say.

_Why is Calikarcha still here, Ryuk?! Why can't he leave!?_

Mikami stood up straight, still keeping the umbrella over me, as he extended his hand and kept his face expressionless. Damn. Another Near... "Come on. Get up."

I stood to my feet, not bothering to take his hand, and looked up at Mikami, considering he was a bit taller than me. He quickly grabbed my hand, even if i didn't want to hold his, and walked forcefully around to the front of SPK headquarters.

Of course I had never told Mikami that I was a cop, let alone part of the SPK under Near's wing, but, if he didn't realize it now, he never would. There was a lot that I hadn't told Mikami, but only because my rules as a cop restricted me from doing so.

He knew more about me than anyone else.

Even if our relationship was based on a lie.

"Midori, I need to ask you something--"

"Midori, are you--" Matsuda walked out but stopped once he noticed Mikami standing in front of me. I knew that Matsuda didn't like Mikami, it was obvious, but Mikami didn't like him either. It was as if a triangle had formed and I had no say in the matter.

My brother believed Mikami to be Kira, which is the reason why he despised him so. Of course he had no proof, and neither did Near, so it seemed a bit shallow to hate Mikami based on no evidence. Matsuda is too protective...

He glared menacingly at Mikami, who wrapped his arm around my waist just to piss my brother off. "Matsuda, Midori and I need to be_ alone." _Mikami implied, arrogantly.

Matsuda didn't leave. Instead, he turned his gaze to me and ignored Mikami completely. Both of them were making the matter of the situation even worse. Bahh... "Midori, are you ready to go?"

_Go...? Go where?_

"Uh, yeah." I lied, playing along. "Just let me--"

"Good. Mikami can join us."

I glanced over at Matsuda who had an innocent little smile on his face._ "_What?" Mikami and I both asked in unison.

"Come on, lets go!" Matsuda grabbed my wrist and pulled me out from Mikami's grip as he followed closely behind. He was pleased that Mikami let me go so easily.

Matsuda was older, and, in some ways, more wiser than Mikami. He knew of Mikami's little games, the games that I enjoyed playing so much, but I would never admit that to Matsuda.

Suddenly, thinking about the matter sent me on a guilt trip. I felt someone behind me, not Mikami, but someone else. Why was I feeling so guilty about being with Mikami all the time...?

My mouth suddenly turned into a frown as memories from the past flowed.

_...Matt._

"Matsuda, what are you doing?!" I asked, arrogantly. "We're not supposed to leave headquarters!"

He ignored me and walked into a local diner. "Yes, I need a table for two." Mikami cleared his throat and used it as an excuse to announce that he was still here. "...I mean...three."

Matsuda sat down as I took a seat across from him, Mikami sitting beside me. Already Matsuda was pissed and Mikami wasn't making it any better. He kept sliding his arm around my shoulders and leaning into my neck, playfully nibbling on my ear and grabbing my hand under the table.

My brother hid his face behind the menu, believing that if he couldn't see it, it wasn't happening. Mikami stole a quick kiss from my lips as he moved even closer, made even more noise, grunts, moans, and other noises that gained the customers attention.

_Gah, how embarrassing..._ I felt myself blushing as I tried to push Mikami away.

He wanted Matsuda to cause a scene.

Well, he did.

Matsuda shot up from his seat, his chair falling to the ground, as he slammed his palms on the wooden table, causing the drinks to shake. "Get your greasy little hands off of my sister, you pervert!″

I flinched. Matsuda never had outbursts like this. He was always so calm and cheery. Only once had I ever seen him like this, and I never want to see that again, let alone provoke it.

Mikami stood out of his seat and came inches away from my brothers face, hatred burning in his eyes. "Who are you calling a pervert!? Why don't you get your head out of your ass and pay more attention, moron! I'm no pervert!!″

They were yelling, loudly, and were attracting attention towards us.

"Oh, I'm sorry, why don't I call you _something else_!″ Matsuda said, leaning forward again. ″How about _'serial killer'_, or '_murderer'_, or _'Kira'_?!"

I stood up and tried to get my brother and my boyfriend to calm down, but nothing I did, or said, seemed to work. This was getting out of hand. I hated being so fragile and weak, it never was useful. It was always a disadvantage.

"_Kira?!"_ Mikami glared menacingly, as if he had been offended. But, he always referred to Kira in positive ways, almost as if he wanted to be him. In fact, I was almost positive that, if he had the chance, he _would_ trade places with Kira. Why was he acting offended?

"That's right! _Kira_!" Matsuda repeated, poking Mikami's chest repeatedly. "Don't think I don't know you, Mikami! You've been suspicious since day one! I greatly suspect you of being Kira!! And you are suspected!!"

_No he's not... I haven't seen his name on Near's suspect list. What are you talking about, Matsuda...?_

"The only reason why you suspect me of being Kira is because I'm dating your sister! And not to mention the fact that you don't like me!"

_What happened to your sense of righteousness, Mikami? If the Mikami I thought I knew were here, he would be trying to stop the fight, not provoke it._

"You're right, Mikami. I don't like you!" Matsuda said, waving his arms. "If it were up to me, I'd have you prosecuted! But I don't have enough evidence to do so!"

"And you never will, because_ I'm. Not. Kira_!!" Mikami yelled, annunciating his words.

"Nothing you say can change my suspicions." Matsuda explained. "You're a sickening man and justice will prevail!! You will be prosecuted!"

I grabbed Mikami's hand to try and calm him down as Matsuda stormed out of the restaurant. Mikami was pissed and I knew that Matsuda wouldn't be too happy when I got home.

Mikami sighed heavily and sat back down, putting his hand on his forehead.

"Mikami, are you--"

"Shut up, Midori..." He didn't say it with hatred, he said it with defeat. Matsuda really had gotten to him.

I squeezed his hand and rested my head against his chest, listening closely for his heartbeat. He was breathing heavily from the anger and hatred towards Matsuda, but something was missing.

Although my ear remain on his chest, I could hear no heartbeat.

My train of thought and hearing was interrupted when Mikami raised his head and whispered in my ear.

"...Lets go back to my place..."

--

Mikami opened the door with ease and fell onto the couch, un-doing his tie and unbuttoning the top few buttons, letting his build show. I sat in an armchair on the other side of the room, gazing at his glorious frame, as we were induced in silence.

Mikami slowly shut his eyes and pinched the space above his nose between his eyes, as if a migraine were coming.

"Mikami, I'm sorry..." I said, biting my lip. "Matsuda can be a little..."

"Bitchy...?"

"N-not exactly..." I announced. "He was just having a bad day, is all..."

Mikami opened his eyes and gave me a small smile. "Midori, come here..."

I stopped and looked at him strangely. He had to repeat his demand for me to actually make any movement.

_What did he want?_

I slowly stood up from the armchair and made my way towards him. My colleague, my admirer, my boyfriend. I stood in front of him and stared down at Mikami, his eyes staring up at me from behind his glasses.

"What is it Mikami...?"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto him, onto his lap as he whispered softly in my ear, his warm breath spreading on my neck and down to my back.

"Do you believe in God?"

I leaned back and slipped my hands out from his grip. Always! Always he was bringing up God! What a way to ruin a moment. "Mikami, I get the feeling that you love God more than you love me."

"No, no, no, Midori. Of course not." he said, smirking and pulling me forward again, wrapping his arms around me.

"...You always bring him up though..."

Mikami looked into my eyes and smiled softly. Suddenly, he flipped me onto my back on the couch as he pinned me down, sitting on top of me and still smiling.

"I do?" He didn't wait for my answer, instead, he leaned in and kissed me, slowly turning it into a deep and passionate kiss, which only reminded me of Matt.

Of course it was wrong to think of Matt when I was kissing Mikami, but I couldn't help it. Mikami kissed almost exactly like him. He pulled away and started kissing my neck, then nibbling on my ear and I could feel him smirking.

_"Tell you what, why don't you stay here tonight?" _Matt's voice rang trough my head as that filthy cigarette and those tinted goggles flowed as well.

_Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!_

_"Midori, you're different from other girls..."_

"What the...?" Mikami stopped, and so did my thoughts of Matt, which both disappointed me, and searched around. "Midori, what is that...?"

I reached for my pager, which was vibrating, and read the number. Matsuda. Mikami grabbed the pager and glanced at the name and number, then dropped it on the floor and continued to kiss me.

It was wrong to ignore Matsuda for Mikami. Matsuda was my brother and I knew him longer, trusted him more, and knew more about him. But Mikami was drawing me in, making me melt, and just wouldn't stop.

I didn't want him to.

_Did I? Maybe I didn't want him to stop because when he's kissing me, I think of Matt..._

_I miss you, Matt..._

After a while, he did stop and leaned back, staring into my eyes as I looked up at him. "Midori...?"

"Hn...?" I shut my eyes sleepily and let Mikami's head rest near my shoulder, his voice whispering in my ear.

"...Marry me."


	7. Trouble

I didn't answer Mikami.

Lets just say that I left his house earlier than intended.

I sat in the living room with Matsuda, but I wasn't focused on him, I was focused on the past when I met Mikami. Still it remained clear to me, even after everything that has happened.

_**Flashback:**_

_It was seven years ago that I met him._

_Light introduced us. __Just about three or four days before he was killed. Before Ryuk wrote Light's name in his death note._

_″Him...?″ I asked Light, looking Mikami up and down. I was dissatisfied. Surely Light could pick a better supporter to carry the notebook._

_″Relax.″ Light said, simply. ″It's only for the time being. Besides, if he refuses to give it back...″ he paused, glanced up at Mikami through his bangs, and gave him a cold stare. ″I still have Misa's death note...″_

_The tension in Light's room at Task Force Headquarters in Japan was greatly rising. I stood before two of the strongest people I've ever met. Mikami was calm and relaxed, and Light was determined and confident._

_″So, are you going to give me the death note or not?″ Mikami asked, impatiently. He was growing restless as he reached out his hand, the spot where he expected Light to place the notebook. I stopped him before he could though._

_″Why him, Light?″ I asked, snatching the death note out from his hands. ″What makes him a better candidate than me?″_

_Light glanced at me and took the notebook back into his own hands, now fixating his cold glare on me. ″Because, Midori, eventually, you're going to chicken out of ownership.″ Light explained, handing the death note to Mikami. ″Unlike you, Mikami has no problem with killing people.″_

_″I have absolutely no problem with killing people!″ I said, my defense rising. I would do a much better job than Mikami at being Kira! ″If it were up to me, I'd kill both of you on the spot, right now, right here.″_

_Light and Mikami exchanged glances as Light smirked. He obviously didn't believe me, and I don't think Mikami did either. _

_″Then do it.″ Mikami said._

_I stopped, and finally my brain caught up with my mouth. ″Gladly. Just give me the death note and I'll do it.″_

_Light stepped in and grabbed my shoulders tightly. He made it feel as though he would rip them right out of their sockets. ″Midori, stop it. I'm trying to save our asses, so shut up!″_

_I flinched at the last two words and fought the urge to punch Light square in the jaw. Our asses... I wonder if he truly meant ours, or just his. With Light, there's no telling._

_″Fine! Go ahead and choose 'Mikami'!″ I said, glaring menacingly at the two. Angrily I turned around and headed out of Light's room, but I left with three cruel words. ″Go to hell.″_

_--_

_Mikami caught up with me in the elevator and leaned against the railing, exhaling deeply and chuckling a bit. ″You're a jealous one, aren't you?″ he said, practically waving the death note in my face._

_″Why are you here?″ I asked, crossing my arms. ″To rub your precious death note in my face? Well, newsflash, Mikami... You're only a temporary Kira. The minute Light doesn't need to hide the fact that he is Kira, ownership returns to him.″_

_He sighed and smirked, extending his arm along the golden rail, an excuse to move closer. ″Well, Midori, you may not like me based on first impressions, but, really, I'm a good guy.″_

_″Oh, really?″ I asked, sardonically. ″I don't believe you. No one can be called a 'good guy' if they're Kira.″_

_He leaned in closer again, his mouth beside my ear. ″I can show you better than I can tell you.″ I swallowed a lump in my throat as he whispered, his warm breath scaling down my spine._

_Mikami grabbed me forcefully by the arms and pinned me against the golden doors of the elevator, keeping his mouth beside my ear. ″I still hate you...″ I said, looking up at the speakers of the elevator. ″That Kira position belonged to me.″_

_He chuckled again and ran his hand up the wall beside my head. ″Well, maybe if you weren't so--″_

_The doors suddenly opened as Mikami and I fell back, his weight lying on top of me in the hallway of headquarters, where L, Matsuda, and the rest of the investigation team stared down at us. Mikami wasn't moving, and I was looking up at Matsuda, who seemed outraged._

_Worse than dad._

_Mikami leaned down and kept his voice low. ″I'll...I'll see you around...″_

_--_

″So, he proposed...?″ Matsuda asked, sipping his cup of coffee on my couch at my house and interrupting my flashback. ″To you...?″

_Duh. Who else would he propose to?_

″Yup. Me. Last night.″ I said, not bothering to look my brother in the eye. I knew he wasn't taking lightly to this, but I had no one else to tell. I told Matsuda everything.

Considering everyone else was dead.

″Midori, can I ask you something...?″ Matsuda asked, scratching his head.

I looked up at him and stared confusingly. ″Perhaps. What's on your mind?″ He was hesitating, I could tell. Whatever it was, he was still trying to say it in his head before he said it aloud.

″Have you ever written in the death note?″

It came out quick, and his words felt like someone was throwing a bucket of knives aimed at me, all of them hitting in my chest. Now I was hesitating. ″Where did that come from?″

I leaned back in my chair and tried to play it cool, even though I knew I was going to eventually crack. Unlike Light, I couldn't take the pressure of being called a murder, or a criminal.

Or Kira.

″I was just curious.″ he said, staring down into his coffee cup at the sediment left at the bottom. ″I mean, you seem to know a lot about it, right?″

″Well, yeah.″ I answered, pondering at the thought. ″I've never written in it though, but, uhh, well, Light _was_ a close friend. It kind of sucks that he turned out to be Kira...″

_Liar... why are you lying to your brother? Of COURSE you've written in the death note._

″But, Matsuda, Ryuu-- I mean, L, knew quite a bit about the death note, too.″ I explained, picking at my fingernails. ″Do you suspect that he wrote in the death note?″

Matsuda contemplated the thought and stirred his coffee, licked the spoon, then leaned forward on my couch. He looked stressed. Usually, Matsuda was happy and peppy, but not in a 'look-at-me-I'm-crazy' kind of way.

Actually...

″Well, I know that L would never do that.″ he said, keeping his face expressionless. ″But, considering your past relationship with Kira, and how much you know about how the death note works, I was thinking that...″

He trailed off and leaned back on the cushions. He was done. Period. The conversation was over.

″Never mind...″ he said, sighing. ″It's not important, I suppose...″

There was a knock at the door; a quick, but brief knock which told Matsuda and I to open the door immediately. We exchanged glances.

″Are you expecting anyone?″ Matsuda asked suspiciously. He must have been thinking of Mikami.

″...No.″ I looked down at my watch and glanced at the time. ″Who comes over at two in the morning?″

Slowly I made my way towards the front door and placed my hands against the cool wooden surface. There was another knock, more brief, as if the person on the other side was losing patience.

I raised my feet, stood on my tip-toes, and squinted one eye, preparing to look through the peephole.

Suddenly, a gun shot was fired as I fell to the floor on my back, watching as my door burst off of its hinges, it laying in front of me. Matsuda shot up from his seat as I remain on the floor in fear.

″Sit down, buddie.″ the criminal said, aiming his gun at my brother. Him and his three sidemen were armed, while Matsuda and I were not. We were outnumbered and screwed.

″...Mello?″

He looked down at me, his gun still pointed at Matsuda, and gave me a smirk. ″So, we meet again, Midori...″

He motioned for Rod and Glen, who were in on my kidnapping earlier, to fix their guns on Matsuda as he lifted me off the ground and onto my feet. Mello pulled me in closely, his hand firmly against my back and the gun in his opposite hand threatening to shoot my heart, the cold barrel on my chest.

″...Where's the real death note...?″ he whispered in my ear.

_Shit. Matsuda told me that this would happen._

″I don't have it...″

_How did Mello know where I lived...?  
_

″Give it to me now, Midori.″ Mello pressured, loading his gun. I shut my eyes and tried to push away, but his grip was too tight. ″Otherwise, I'll kill you and your brother.″

_Just give it to him. _

″I don't have it.″ I repeated, not listening to the voice in my head. ″I already told you. The Japanese Police Department has it--″

He fired his gun, but into the air, not into my chest. Mello was fed up. ″Give me the damn death note!″

I couldn't hear Matsuda anymore, which worried me. Rod and Glen must have taken him out of the room, but to where? Dammit...

Ryuk wasn't around, but I was surprised to see Calikarcha standing behind Mello in my doorway. Mello pushed me, hard, so that I fell on the floor. He then ran up the stairs, three at a time, in search for his comrades.

I pulled myself up just in time for me to see Calikarcha following Mello closely up the stairs. Quietly, I crawled over to the phone that lay on the kitchen cabinet and grabbed it, turned it on and dialed Near's cell phone.

Patiently I waited as the ringing commenced, continuously ringing for what seemed like forever. A loud thump came from upstairs followed by a faint scream for help and footsteps. I dropped the phone from surprise as the batteries fell out and scattered across the floor.

Shit.

I started to crawl towards the living room, but was stopped when my head bumped into the barrel of a gun. Slowly I looked up and noticed Mello chewing on a chocolate bar and staring down at me.

″Where do you think you're going?″

--

It was a hold up.

Mello really did want the death note.

But, what I couldn't get out of my mind was that Calikarcha was hanging around Mello. He couldn't be Mello's shinigami, no, Mello doesn't have the real death note.

But why was he here!?

And where was Ryuk?

Mello kept the gun fixed on my head, my temple to be exact. ″Mello, stop!″ I demanded, almost pleading. ″The L.A.P.D doesn't have the death note.″

″Midori, don't you know that it's wrong to lie?″

″But, I'm not--″

″You don't have to worry.″ he interrupted, whispering in my ear again. ″I'm not going to kill _you_ first... I'll wait till a bit later to do that...″

My heart skipped.

It was true, I had Misa's death note upstairs, but it seemed like it didn't work anymore. I mean, if I couldn't see Rem, Misa's shinigami, then it couldn't be working.

Calikarcha caught my eye once more, his eyes still blood red as he raised a hand, swiped it through Mello's body. He didn't feel it, he only flinched and shook away the feeling.

It was just me and him downstairs consumed by the darkness of my house. Mello pushed me to the floor again as I looked up at him, the gun pointing at my forehead.

″Fine, if you won't give me the death note, I'll just kill you...″

He loaded the gun and smirked widely, but suddenly stopped and began to shake. I stared in confusion as his smirk disappeared and he began moving his gun to his head slowly.

″What the hell...?″

I glanced at my clock on the wall, noticing the second hand pass by the 7. Calikarcha chuckled as Mello loaded the gun, terror on his face. He placed his finger on the trigger and squeezed it just as forty seconds had passed.

I shut my eyes and covered my ears as the shot was made, a bright flash engulfing the room. Mello fell to the floor with a loud thump as I remain petrified.

Mello didn't shoot himself. He shot one of his two partners.

They were dead. On my hardwood floor. Blood.

**--**

Matsuda clicked in my mind. I quickly ran up the stairs as Mello chased after me, but I was determined to save Matsuda.

I kicked open the attic and noticed Matsuda on the ground. He was breathing, but he was covered in bruises and scrapes. Glen was the only one standing. ″What the hell--″

″Get out!″ I demanded, motioning towards the window. ″Now!″

″Who are you to--″

Mello appeared behind me and grabbed me, covered my mouth, and put the gun to my head, threatening to shoot. Of course, he's done this many times before in the past, and each time he was too much of a girl to actually shoot me.

Glen looked confusingly at Mello as I shut my eyes and tried to relax. ″Where's Rod?″

″He's dead.″ Mello was quick to answer, as if he were hiding the fact that he had killed Rod.

The news came to him like a cold winter breeze across his face. ...Perfect. Sirens blazed outside as Mello and Glen exchanged glances.

″D-do we just leave him here?″ Glen asked, trembling.

Mello pushed me to the ground next to Matsuda as I hit my head with a loud thump. ″We've no other choice...″ They ran out of the attic and out the back door.

--

Near got my call. An ambulance and two units pulled up to my house as I dropped the gun and kneeled beside Matsuda.

″Matsu, Matsu wake up.″ I said, shaking him lightly and ignoring the pain in my head. At the moment, Matsuda's safety was more important than Mello and that other guy... ″Matsuda...?″

Nothing.

″Hey! Matsuda!″

He coughed and blinked his eyes sheepishly. Matsuda turned his gaze and gave me a weak smile, but his eyes were dull and almost cloudy.

″Are you okay? What happened!?″Kat ran into the room, dressed in tight red and black leather, her gear for her motorcycle, and stood in a prepared poise. ″Near sent us down here on drastic measures.″

″Can you take him?″ I asked, still kneeling by Matsuda and trying to get him to stay conscious. ″I gotta grab something.″

Kat set her helmet down on the hardwood floor and squatted beside me, grabbing Matsuda's arm and putting it around her shoulders. She lifted my brother as he dwindled in her grip. ″Yeah. No worries, Midori. He's in good hands.″

She dragged him out of the attic as I waited patiently for them to leave.

″You so owe me.″ I turned around and noticed Calikarcha floating beside me, smirking and picking at his fingernails. Why was he helping me? Hell if I knew. Maybe he was having a good streak...

″Calikarcha, why did you do that?″

He flipped and landed softly on his feet, stretching and stifling a yawn. ″Cause. If anyone's going to kill you, it'll be me.″

_What?_

″Like Mello said, you don't have to worry.″ he said, crossing his arms. ″I'm not going to kill you just yet. It's not in my keen sense of generosity to do it yet. I'll give you awhile...″

I swallowed a lump in my throat and tried to calm myself down. Unfortunately, I was on everyones 'to kill' list, and I didn't like it. Always I was feeling as if the whole world was against me.

Quickly I sneaked into my bedroom and shut the door behind me, locking it and fishing around in my drawers. Calikarcha followed me into the room, watching me in confusion as I went from one side of the room to the other.

″What the hell are you doing?″ I stopped and granted him with a cold and menacing glare. ″What? Is that supposed to scare me...?″

″If you must know, I'm looking for something.″ I said, continuing my search. Finally after I looked under the bed, I pulled out a black notebook, blew off the dust, and stared at the white lettering.

Death Note

_What... Wait, Misa's Death Note had Japanese Characters on it..._

"This isn't Misa's Death Note..."

_This is LIGHT'S DEATH NOTE !!_

But... I thought Mikami had Light's Death Note. How come I have it now...?

_That would explain why I couldn't see Rem..._

_″_Midori...?″ I jumped and hit my head on the bottom of my bed frame, yelped in pain, and cursed under my breath. Quickly I hid the death note under my shirt and crawled out from the bed, smiling at Clark who stood in front of me.

″What is it?″

He walked in and sat down on my bed. It confused me for a minute, but then I realized that he was just as confused as me. ″Near wants you to move out.″

″...Move out of what?″

″...Your house...″

″What?!″ I jumped and grabbed the death note before it fell out from my shirt. ″Why!?″

Clark stood up and put up his hands in defense. ″He said that you're a very large target, and that you should be more careful about your whereabouts and your identity--″

″Where am I supposed to live!?″ I yelled. ″Matsuda needs a place to stay too!″

″Near was prep--″

″Give me your phone.″

″Wh-what?″

″Give me your phone.″ I repeated, extending my hand.

He reached into his pocket slowly and dropped his phone in my hand while staring at me in confusion. ″Why are you--″

″Near!!″ I spoke into the receiver, waving my hand in the air. ″What are you, crazy? How am I supposed to just pack up and move out?! I don't have anywhere else to--″

″You can't pack up your things.″

″What?!″ I screamed. I felt it now. My head was hot and my chest was heaving. ″How can you just expect me to leave everything behind?″

″You have to start out completely new.″ Near exclaimed. ″New place, new look, new identity, new items, new everything.″

I paused and tried to relax. I probably just heard him wrong. ″New? ...Why?″

″Like I said, you are a big target. I can allow you to stay at my apartment for awhile, until further notice.″

″What about Matsu--″

″Him too.″

I paused again. ″I don't want to do it.″

″You have no choice. It's either that, or be killed by Mello's mafia.″

″But, didn't Clark arrest that one guy that tried to run away?″

″No... he got away. Clark didn't have time to catch up.″ Near explained. There was a brief moment of silence, a sigh from Near, then more speaking. ″I suggest changing now. For safety reasons.″

″...Can I make a call first?″


	8. Change

Matsuda was the first to walk into Near's apartment, followed by me.

To tell the truth, it wasn't what you'd expect of an apartment. It was large, decorated, and very classical-looking. Although, one thing that annoyed the crap out of Matsuda was the fact that there were toys all over the place.

″Ah, Matsuda, Midori, how nice.″ Near said through no emotion. ″You showed up fifteen minutes earlier than predicted. Very impressive.″

Matsuda and I slowly exchanged glances. Near really was more active outside of the office, even if it didn't show. But, there was something else about him that made me think of the past.

He was almost exactly like L.

I sat down on the couch and let out a loud sigh, watching as Near and Matsuda went into the kitchen. A piece of paper was flapping as I glanced at it, grabbed it and opened it.

Suspects

Mikami Teru  
Evidence:  
Works as a criminal prosecutor. Has been seen numerous times with a  
black notebook that resembles that of the death note. Seems to have  
a very strong sense of righteousness, as noted from interrogation. Close  
elations to the first Kira's ally, Midori Tota

Mihael Keehl (A.K.A Mello)  
Evidence:  
Demanded possession of the death note. Kidnapped Sayu Yagami, Matsuda  
Tota and Midori in order to gain that possession. Is leader of a mafia  
group. Former member of Whammy's House.

Midori  
Evidence:  
1st Kira's, Light Yagami's, ally. Dated Mail Jeevas (A.K.A Matt) who was a  
suspect and a cohort of Mello's. Suspected of having a death note of her own,  
as surveillance in her house shows.

_What? I'm suspected of being Kira because of my past?? _

I folded the note quickly and threw it back on the table as Near and Matsuda walked into the living room. Matsuda gave me a sympathetic look, which made me think that Near had told him of me being a suspect.

_Woah, woah, woah, wait..._

Near kept his gaze on and sat down across from me on the opposite couch. I kept a cold stare on him at all times, and Matsuda, I could tell, could feel the tension in the room. I'm sure Near could feel it as well as I shot him a menacing glare.

_Why would Near just leave a suspect list in the middle of the living room in plain sight? If he were anything like L, he would have hidden it, or carried it at all times..._

I rubbed my head and glanced at Ryuk and Calikarcha, who had just began laughing maniacally. Matsuda was looking right at Ryuk, and I wondered if he was able to see him like he was able to in the past.

_This is all a ploy. This is a plot to get me to freak out about being suspected. Near thinks that the pressure will be too intense and that I'll crack and turn myself in. But... something still isn't adding up..._

Matsuda finally chimed in, jumping to his feet and scratching the back of his head. ″How about I make some tea...? Tea is very...relaxing...″

_Matsuda is against me..._

I felt my heart sink. My own brother. Against me and plotting to prosecute me. Eliminate me. All because of the past, and of what stupid Near thought of me now.

″Good idea, Matsuda.″ Near exclaimed, twirling his hair and picking up a rubber duck. He squeezed it and it made a squeaky noise, which made Matsuda jump. ″I'll take mine with two sugar squares.″

He held up his wrist and pointed two fingers to indicate the amount. Near really was like L. The brains, the emotionless expressions, the experiences, the evaluations.

The _correct_ evaluations.

_If things don't turn out right, I may have to kill Matsuda and Near, if I can find out his real name..._

I didn't want to. I hated the fact that it even crossed my mind. But, if he were trying to eliminate me, I'd have to beat him to it. I'd have to eliminate him first. Matsuda walked frantically into the kitchen which left Near and I in the room.

I needed to leave. To get out of this hell-hole before things got out of--

″May I ask you a question, Midori?″ Near asked, examining his toy.

_No._

″Sure...″

He twirled one strand of hair and squeezed the duck again, which was followed by metal clanging and clashing on the ground from the kitchen. ″Do you know a Mikami Teru?″

I cocked an eyebrow and crossed my legs, trying to go about the mature way in this situation. ″No. I don't. I mean, I've heard his name, but I haven't exactly 'met' him.″ Thoughts of Mikami swept through my head.

_Midori...?_

″Oh. Is that so?″ Near asked, looking to the rafters on the ceiling. ″He seems to know quite a lot about you, actually...″

_...Marry me._

″I don't know how.″ I lied, biting my lip. The doorbell to Near's apartment rang and another loud bang came from the kitchen, followed by Matsuda sighing and cursing softly.

″Midori, can you get that?″

I stood up slowly and walked over to the door. I opened it and stared in shock at the man before me. ″Mikami...?!″ I whispered and glanced back at Near, but he had already seen Mikami. ″What are you doing here?″

″Hello, Midori.″ he said smiling, greeting me with a small kiss on my lips. ″Have you thought about the pro--″

″Ahh, Mikami, come in.″ Near said, monotonously, waving his hand, but keeping his eyes on his toy. I glanced back again at Near, but tried to read what was going on in his mind this time, what he was plotting, but it seemed almost impossible.

Mikami grabbed my hand and lead me into Near's apartment, taking a seat on the couch. He motioned for me to sit next to him on the couch, but I couldn't do that in front of Near. I just told him that I didn't even know Mikami at all. I let go of his hand and walked into the kitchen where Matsuda was causing a wreckage.

I'm sure Mikami got the wrong signal...

″Matsuda, what the heck is going on!?″ I said, startling him. He spilled the tea cup of the floor, burning hot tea splattering all over the place. Matsuda cursed once more and went back to boiling hot water.

″Aghh, Midori, why did you do that!″ Matsuda said, stirring the water. ″I just finished!!″

″Matsu, why is Mikami here!?″ I asked, waving my arms. Matsuda only shrugged. He was frustrating me, I hated when people ignored me. And Matsuda, well, he did it a lot. ″Matsuda!!″

″WHAT?!″ he yelled, scaring me. ″Midori, I can't answer every single question in your head, okay!? I have my own problems to worry about!!″

″Some older brother you are.″ I snapped, crossing my arms and pouting. ″That's the whole point of being older, to protect the younger!″

Matsuda left the stove and came about an inch from my face, his chest heaving and his nostrils flaring. ″Look, Midori, it's difficult when you have a pint sized little sister who won't stay off your back, all because she doesn't want to be arrested for murder!″

I didn't move. The inch between us was threatening, and quite frankly I was scared. Matsuda had outbursts, but this was the worst. I inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself down. ″That's not what I'm doing... And you know it.″

″No, Midori, it is what you're doing.″ Matsuda said, waving his arm. ″Constantly you're coming up with some lame excuse for not being Kira, and no one believes you!″

″No one believes me...?″ I asked, cocking an eyebrow. ″What about you, Matsuda, do you believe me...?″

He stopped and looked down at the tea soaked floor. ″...No.″ he said, simply, glaring menacingly into my eyes and keeping his face inches from mine. ″...Not anymore.″

″Matsuda, would you like help with the tea?″ Near asked, walking into the kitchen followed by Mikami. The two of them stopped to look at Matsuda and I, tears swelling in our eyes.

″...You don't...?″

Matsuda turned around and walked out of the kitchen, not even bothering to answer. I looked up to the ceiling, hoping to stop the tears. Ryuk was to my left, smirking and staring at Calikarcha. Mikami shot his shinigami a glance and winked, or so it seemed.

″So what happens now?″ Ryuk asked chuckling uncontrollably.

--

I went back to headquarters the next morning, avoiding Matsuda and keeping to myself in the office. That is, until Near called me in. I stood up and walked into his office, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw Matsuda standing in front of Near's desk.

″Why is he in here?″ I asked, with a bit more venom than intended. Matsuda didn't bother to turn around, instead, he shoved his hands into his pocket and stood there, eying the floor. ″What did you want?″ I asked awkwardly.

″First, I want you to hand in your gun.″ Near said, extending his hand. I cocked an eyebrow and glanced quickly at Matsuda, who still had his gun.

″What?! ...Why?″ I rested my hand on the holster clipped to my belt. ″If you think I'm going to shoot you, you're wrong.″

_It's only crossed my mind once... or twice._

″It's nothing permanent.″ Near replied. ″It's just because you are suspected of being Kira.″

I glared at him menacingly and handed over my gun, slamming it on the desk. I leaned in to Near so that I was close enough to speak in a faint whisper. ″...If I were going to shoot you, don't you think I would have done it already?″

Purposely I winked and returned to Matsuda's side, waiting for the instructions Near would give us. He didn't even hesitate after I said what I did, he just went right to speaking. No fear in his voice at all. ″You are to do espionage work at the moment.″

″Espionage!″ Matsuda was excited. All his life he wanted to be a spy. Of course, baby wants what baby gets. ″Who are we spying on, Ne--, I mean, N?″

Near seemed annoyed by Matsuda's outburst, but continued anyway. ″I want you to locate Kiyomi Takada. She was the 1st and 2nd Kira's speaker a few years ago, but I want you two to see if she knows anything about the present day Kira.″

″...Wait..._WE??″ _I asked, pointing to Matsuda and I. ″We can't both go on the mission! It won't--″

″I want this done precisely.″ Near said, showing off his vocabulary. ″If you fail to do so, I'll have you both put on probation.″ I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms. It's not as if I had anything to lose. I mean, I was hardly on the investigation team anyway.

″Fine.″ I said, flipping my hair off my shoulders. ″We'll spy on _Kiyomi Takada_, but under one condition.″ Near cocked an eyebrow as Matsuda tried to shut me up. But I had my eyes on the prize, and it was on Near's desk.

″No. You can not have your gun back.″ Near said quickly. ″This is strictly for safety--″

″How come Matsuda gets his gun!?″ I yelled, angrily. ″He can hardly shoot the damn thing! If I were to stand completely still, he wouldn't even hit me!″

″No negotiations.″ Near answered. ″Go. Now.″

--

I followed Matsuda down the SPK headquarters staircases and ignored his incessant rambling. I was focused on revenge. Vengeance. Justice !!

_Stupid Near thinks he can control me... Well, he can't !!_

I noticed a storage closet coming up, one that had a big bulky sign on it that read **Employee's Only**. My mind was racing with thoughts, and, quite frankly, it scared me. However, I went along with it.

″Hey, Matsuda...″ I said, my heart pounding.

He turned around and looked at me, stopping on a flight of stairs. ″What?″

″Uhh... You have something on your suit.″ I said, lying. I turned him around, so that his back was facing me, and I wiped the back of his suit. My left hand was slowly reaching for his gun, while I quietly kicked open the storage closet.

″What, I do? Where?″

I grabbed his gun swiftly and tightly held onto Matsuda, throwing him into the storage closet and shutting the door in his face. With my weight against the door, I held him back and put his gun in my holster.

″Midori, what the hell are you doing!?″ he yelled, pounding on the door. ″Let me out of here and give me back my gun!!″

I locked the storage closet from the outside and ran down the stairs to Matsuda's SPK car. Quickly I grabbed the keys from the visor and sped off into the district, heading straight for my destination.

Sakura TV.

--

″I'm looking for Kiyomi Takada.″ I said, simply, shoving the keys into my pocket. ″It's important.″

The two guards exchanged looks and smirked. ″How important?″

″Look, just let me through !!″ I demanded angrily. ″I need to see Kiyomi Takada immediately.″

″Just who the hell do you think you are?″ one of the men asked, crossing his arms.

I pulled out my SPK badge, which admittedly had been confiscated by Near previous, and flashed it to the guards. They took a step back and saluted me.

″Kiyomi Takada is on the fifth floor in room eleven.″ one of them said. I nodded, put away my badge, and headed to the fifth floor.

knocked on the door that read 'Kiyomi' and waited patiently for it to open. No response. I knocked once more, louder this time just as the door swung open, a tall, slim, and luscious Kiyomi standing in front of me. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

″Ms. Takada?″

″Y-Yes?″

″My name is M--″

″Mariya. Yes. I know.″ she said, knowing my real name. ″I believe I've seen you somewhere before.″

_What!? How...how does she know my real name!?_

″...How do you know me, if you don't mind me asking?″ I asked, not bringing up my real name.

″You were that one guys girlfriend, weren't you?″ she asked, her eyes dull and colourless. She seemed different in reality than on TV. ″The one that kidnapped me.″

My eyes widened. What a way to be known. ″About that-- well, you do know that I wasn't in on--″

″Oh, yes. I know.″ She gave me a small smile and nodded her head. ″So, why are you here?″

Right. I was completely off track. Stupid bird walks. ″Well, you see, I wanted to talk to someone about Light. Light Yaga--″

″Yes.″ she said, as if she didn't want to hear his whole name. ″He was such an admirable man, strong, brave, cautious, sexy, independent.″

She continued to ramble on as Ryuk appeared beside me. ″She really liked him, ne?″ he chuckled. ″Go ahead and lash out at her. I don't mind. I think Light might enjoy it as well. Kukuku.″

_I'm not jealous..._

″He was such a good role model, too.″ Takada continued, batting her eyelashes. ″I was shocked when I discovered he was Ki--″ She stopped and covered her mouth. It wasn't as if I didn't already know.

There was silence between us, as we both just stared at the other. Of course she was taller than me, larger than me in certain areas, and much more poised.

″Did you know Light Yagami?″ she suddenly asked. I nodded and looked down to the floor, avoiding her gaze.

″I still know Light.″

She cocked an eyebrow and stared at me some more. ″Still?″ she asked, surprised. ″Do you mean he's still--″

″Not exactly.″ I responded quickly. ″I mean--″ a smirk grew on my face, ″I knew Light better than anyone else. You could even say we were... soul mates.″

_Lies! Lies! Light was nothing to you! He tried to kill you! He means nothing!_

″Soul mates?″ She laughed quietly to herself, as if I had just told a joke. ″I think that's where you're wrong.″

″...I'm wrong?″

″See, Light was destined to be my soul mate.″ she answered, shutting her eyes and standing proudly. ″And do you know why...?″

Takada was about my age, a bit older, which made her older than Light. Light went for older women, which was why he acted like such an adult in his time. However, there was something about Takada that reminded me of Misa Amanae.

″And why is that...?″ I asked, cocking my hip. She leaned in close and placed her lips beside my ear, her cherry red lips.

″Because I'm the one who will be married to Kira.″

″Kira? No matter who he is?″ She nodded and leaned against her door frame, tired of holding her pose. "What if it's a girl?"

She shrugged.

″How do you know who Kira is?″

She smirked and her eyes flashed red, striking me as odd. ″Lets just say I can see it in them.″

Ryuk chuckled immensely and glanced at me. ″She has what Misa has.″ he said, pointing to her eyes. ″Do you know what that is...?″

_Shinigami Eyes..._

My head was spinning again as Takada stared into my eyes. It was as if she were sucking out my soul, eating me alive. If I wanted to scream, I couldn't. I knew that.

″Takada, do you have time for lunch?″


	9. Breaking

I told Takada to meet me at a coffee shop around 2PM, for important reasons. Since it was only 11AM, it gave me four hours to do whatever.

Ever since Matt died, in my spare time, I would visit his grave. It was heart-wrenching to do so, but I couldn't let go of Matt, not yet.

I walked through the iron gates of the graveyard and slowly walked down the trail of graves. As I read the names on each tombstone, I felt a chill run down my spine. Never did I like graveyards, let alone ghosts, but when I met Ryuk, I pushed that behind me.

...Sorta.

I stopped at Matt's grave and stared down at the ground in which he was buried. My eyes narrowed as I noticed his goggles folded neatly on the ground, as they were the last seven years. Flowers were surrounding his tombstone, ones from me, and ones from others. However, they were withering.

My eyes were swelling with tears, but I refused to let them fall. This happened every time I visited Matt's grave. So clearly I could still see his death, it was bothersome, and it pained me deeply.

_Matt reached inside the back of his vest and pulled out a gun, but one of the bodyguards shot his hand, causing him to drop the gun to the floor. I ducked as all thirteen bodyguards shot at Matt, who just stood there and allowed them to shoot._

_I shut my eyes tightly and grabbed my head, trying to block out the sounds of the guns shooting. My heart skipped a beat as I heard Matt's body hit the ground and the guns silence. I opened my eyes and looked at Matt, who was only barely breathing, bullet wounds throughout his entire body. The bodyguards put away their guns and threatened to shoot me as well, which is what I really wanted if it meant not loosing Matt. _

_I felt myself crawling over to Matt and touching his face, blood pouring out of his mouth as he struggled to breathe. "...M-Matt..." I felt tears form around my eyes as I trembled, trying to hide my emotions. His beady green eyes peered at me through his goggles as the cigarette remained in his mouth._

_His eyes widened as the cigarette fell from his mouth and onto the ground. His breathing seized. He was dead._

My knees buckled from the flashback as I fell to the ground on Matt's grave, my tears finally falling. They soaked the ground that Matt lie beneath, but they wouldn't bring him back.

I gathered myself together and wiped away my tears. As I raised myself to my feet, I shoved my hands into my coat pockets and stroked Matt's lighter in my left pocket. Always I had carried it around with me. It was the only lifeline I had left to Matt.

Slowly I turned around and walked away, but before I did, I dropped Mikami's engagement ring that he gave to me on Matt's grave. ″...I'm sorry, Matt...″ I said, softly, so that no one else in the graveyard could hear me. ″I shouldn't have...″

_--_

Takada and I went to a coffee shop. Simple and clean. She sipped her coffee quietly as she kept giving me death glares. For what reason, I don't know why. But it was annoying.

″Mariya, do you still feel Light around you?″ She asked. I flinched at the sound of my real name, but covered it up well. ″I mean, as if he were an earthbound spirit.″

I nodded and looked to my left at Ryuk, who pointed next to Takada. Light must be here. ″Yes. In fact, he's here right now.″

Takada flinched, but not because of what I said. She suddenly dropped onto the table and lay restless. I stood up suddenly and reached a hand out to shake her awake, but her hand caught my wrist in a vice-grip.

She lifted herself up as I tried to break free. ″I know he's here.″ she answered, eerily.

My eyes widened at the realization. Light was possessing Takada.″HOLY MOTHER--″ Light's grip tightened and he kicked my leg under the table.

″Shut up!″ he demanded through Takada's voice. ″Don't draw attention!″

I thought my reunion with Light would be a bit less creepy, but this would have to do, I suppose. ″What are you doing? Get out of Takada!″ I whispered.

″Not until you agree to something.″

″No! Go away!″ I demanded, trying to break out from his grip. ″I don't want to see you, speak to you, or feel you! Now leave me alone!″

″If you don't do as I say, I'll kill you.″ he said, his grip tightening even more. ″I'm capable of doing so.″

I glared menacingly and reached for my gun. I stopped, realizing that I was in a public area, and that if I shot Takada, I'd kill her, not Light. ″...What do you want?″ I asked, angrily.

″Give Takada my death note.″ he said, keeping hold of my wrist.

″No!″ I whispered, leaning in. ″I'm not giving this dumb broad _my _death note!″

″It's _not_ yours.″ Light said, glaring.

″It is too! I kept it safe all these years, I deserve it!″

″_Give it to her_!″

″Why?! Did your plan as Mikami being the temporary Kira fail, Light? Hmm?″ I asked, angrily. ″It looks like it did. Admit it, Light. You failed, and you want Takada to take the fall for it!″

He remained silent, I had gotten to him. The guilt was eating him, surprisingly.

″I'm tired of you using women!″ I said. ″You're a selfish nobody who died because he was greedy and stupid! You may be able to use women, but I'm a woman that you'll never be able to use!″

Light stood up and dragged me into the women's bathroom, locked the door, and pinned me against the wall. ″Listen to me, Midori, you're really pushing it! You must have a death wish, because I'm this close to killing you right here, right now!″

I smacked him, which meant there'd be a bruise on Takada's right cheek tomorrow. ″Don't think you can scare me by threatening me, Light Yagami ! I know everything about you! With a flip of my wrist I can break you in two. Just. Like. That.″

All these years of knowing Light ruined me. I'm a nightmare now, a disaster. Light's cockiness and stupidity has rubbed off on me. Now I was an exact replica of Light. I kept trying to tell myself that I was a hero, like Light did, but all I was was a demon.

″Don't get too cocky, Midori.″ he said, smirking and narrowing his eyes. ″One of these days, you're going to _SNAP!!″ _Light emphasized on the last word and yelled it loudly. He leaned in close and slowly spoke into my ear. ″Why do you think you failed as a Kira proxy...?″

″So you think Takada can do a better job?″ I asked, cocking an eyebrow. ″Or Mikami?″

″I _know_ they can. Takada is beautiful and brilliant; she can use her looks to get what she wants, such as a name. And Mikami, well, he practically worships me.″ Light explained.

″No.″ I answered, glaring. ″He doesn't worship _you__. _He worships _God.__″_

There was a brief pause and a small chuckling noise from Light. ″Foolish girl... Don't you see...?″ he asked, staring dead into my eyes. ″...I _AM _God.″

jumped as a bright light escaped from 's body, flowing out of the bathroom and out the building. Light was gone from her body.

She began to fall, limp and unconscious. Quickly I caught her before she could hit the ground. I tried to look at Takada as Kira, as a murderer, and figured that she didn't look anything like either of them. However, that could be an advantage, hiding her true identity.

The Task Force or the SPK would never figure out that she was Kira, if she went along with Light's plan.

″Mariya, what...what are you doing?″ Takada opened her eyes and stared at me in shock and confusion. I dropped her from my hold and began to blush, knowing what Takada was thinking. ″...Mari--″

″Sorry.″ I bowed and remained on the floor. ″I was... well, you collapsed.″

″I-- Mariya, I feel strange.″ Takada said, grabbing her head. There was a pounding at the door as a tough man yelled for Takada's name. It must have been one of her bodyguards.

″Strange how...?″ I asked, lifting myself up from the floor. ″Like, sick?″

She shook her head and stared mindlessly at me. ″I feel like Light is...never mind, it's stupid.″ she said, laughing to herself. ″You probably wouldn't even believe me.″

Silence. Neither of us spoke, for we didn't know what to say. However, by the Takada was staring at me, I felt that at any moment she would lunge out and kill me.

_If she did get her hands on my death note, she could easily kill me. She knows my real name..._

I ran my hand over my pocket, feeling the rough texture of my jeans, felt the hard surface of paper in my pocket. I had learned from Light that it was easier to carry around pages of the death note instead of the actual notebook. That way, no one would ever know you were Kira.

You would just be some random citizen writing down a note, or a reminder, or perhaps a grocery list.

″Mariya, lets get out of here.″ Takada suddenly said.

″Where shall we go, Ms. Takada?″ I asked, politely. I didn't exactly trust Takada, you're not supposed to trust strangers, but it was something else.

″How about Sakura TV? We can talk in private there.″

_Private...?_

--

She sat down across from me, sipping from her champagne glass in a lady-like manner, while I stared at her, trying to read her thoughts. Nothing.

Her bodyguards weren't in the room. When Takada said 'private', she meant private. I could hear my own heart beating in the room. Neither of us were talking, until--

″Mariya, you don't have to hide anything from me.″ she said, motioning towards my champagne glass. ″I don't care whether or not if you're an alcoholic.″

_Yeah right. If you're anything like Light, you probably drugged the champagne. Perfectly good champagne, gone to waste._

″No thank you.″ I said. ″I'm not really a fan of white wine.″ Gah. What a lie. Anyone who really knew me would have known that I _love _whine, especially champagne. I wanted to chug the bottle.

″Very well then.″ she answered, took a sip from her own glass, and paused. ″May I ask you a question then?″

I nodded. ″Sure.″

″Do you believe in Kira?″

_What kind of question is that? I practically was Kira a few years ago. _

″...Uhm, can you --″ My phone rang, startling me and Takada that she spilled a bit of her drink. I answered it quickly and listened closely.

″Hello?″

″Midori, choose your words carefully.″ Near said over the phone. ″You are wired so that SPK members can hear you and the Task Force members in Japan, as well.″

_Wired?! Takada said my name! My REAL name!! Does that mean she, and everyone else, knows it now?_

″Yes. I understand.″ I said, smiling. ″It's in the drawer beside the kitchen sink.″ Near hung up as did I, looking right at Takada and giving a small smile. ″Sorry, back to your question.″

″Are you against Kira, or on his side?″

_Right. So I'm wired. Near said to choose my words carefully. By that, he must have meant that he wants me to charm Ms. Takada into spilling some good information about the current Kira._

″I'm not exactly sure.″ I said, rubbing my chin. ″I suppose it all depends on _who _Kira is, don't you think?″

She didn't answer. Takada just took another sip of her champagne and wiped her lips. If she wasn't going to talk and continue the conversation, I guess I have to.

″However, my answer would be a lot stronger if I actually _knew _who Kira was.″

″Really?″ she said, leaning over the table and glancing at the door. ″Because, I think you know Kira very _very _well.″

_Uh oh. _inched back in my chair and cocked an eyebrow, avoiding Takada's gaze. ″...What are you getting at?″ I asked, narrowing my eyes. She set aside her champagne glass and leaned back in her chair, giving me a cold, hard stare.

″I think _you're _Kira.″ Takada replied, widening her eyes and licking her cherry coloured lips. I stroked the gun on my waist and kept my gaze on Takada. Surely Near and all the others heard this and reacted strongly, considering I was a suspect.

″Me? Kira?″ I laughed a bit and was careful to choose my words correctly. ″There's no way I could be Kira. I mean, Kira is strong, brilliant, and brave. If you compare me to Kira, you get two exact opposites.″

″I don't think so.″ Takada said, smirking. ″You were close to Light, and you're fairly close to Mikami, wouldn't that mean--″

″Wait, woah! What does Mikami have to do with any of this?″ I asked, literally.

″You...you don't know?″ Takada asked, cocking an eyebrow. ″Don't you watch the news?″

″No. Not exactly.″ I said. ″What happened?

_I'm part of the SPK, I know everything that goes on, but ever since I became a suspect, I know nothing now. _

″Mikami was arrested for suspicion of Kira two nights ago.″

My eyes widened slowly. I was with Mikami two nights ago, with Matsuda and Near. How could he be arrested from right under my nose? ″He was... arrested?″

″Yup.″ Takada replied. ″Of course, Mikami was already K--″

I ripped the wiring out of my coat and interrupted Takada. ″I AM KIRA!″ I yelled, jumping out my seat. The chair fell behind me as my heart pounded. Takada stared in awe at me while I was mentally kicking myself in the ass.

_How could you be so stupid!? Why would you blurt that out!?_

It was the only way to stop her from saying what she was going to say...

″You're Kira?″ She stuttered a bit, and was turning red. Takada was admiring me, looking at me as a goddess of the world. ″Are you serious? For real? Oh there are so many questions I have to ask!!″

I kept glancing at the door, feeling that at any moment the police department would burst in and apprehend me. Feeling no other way to escape this misery, I pulled out the wires from my collar and threw them into a drawer. ″N-Not now. We have to get out of here.″

″Wh-what? ...Why?″

I grabbed her arm and lead her to the door, opening it and stopping suddenly. In front of the door stood Takada's thirteen bodyguards, aged since the last time I saw them, and several police. Takada stared in amazement as I slammed the door and locked it.

″Mariya, what are you doing!?″ Takada screamed. I pulled out my gun and held it to her head, threatening to shoot. ″Mariya..? Mariya!!″

Something was wrong. Something was controlling my every move. I was in a big predicament, and my actions weren't making it any better. They were making it worse.

″Shut up, Takada!″ I demanded, feeling tears swell. I was scared, frightened most of all, and I knew I wouldn't live through this. ″If you say anything, anything, 'll kill you!″

″YOU _ARE_ KIRA!!″ Takada screamed, more joyous than scared. ″Oh my goodness, do you know how long I've been waiting for--″

I opened the window, covered her mouth, and shoved my gun into my holster. ″Takada, I need to you stay really really REALLY quiet. You got it?″ I whispered.

The door was pounding, the cops and Takada's bodyguards threatening to break it down. Takada was just dead weight. What the hell was Light talking about when he said that she was 'beautiful and brilliant'? She was dumber than a sack of bricks, as far as I was concerned.

I shoved her into a closet, like I did to Matsuda, and put a chair in front of it. Quickly I moved back to the window and scaled the large TV station, looking down to see several police cars and news stations on the ground.

″Wow, you really got yourself in trouble.″ Ryuk said, peering down at the ground.

″Thanks.″ I said, rolling my eyes. ″Just, help me out, will you?″

″Depends... What's in it for me?″ Ryuk asked chuckling uncontrollably.

″I'll figure that out later. I just need you to do one small thing.″I said, pleading.

He cocked an eyebrow and floated beside me as I used the escape ladder to scale down the building. Finally, once I reached the ground and hid behind a dumpster, I told Ryuk my plan.

″...Reeeeaaallllyyyyy?″ he said, smirking widely. ″Honestly, I never thought that you'd ask me to do that.″

″Can you?″ I asked. ″If I wipe him out, no one on the SPK will know what to anymore. He was the authority figure, the guy who called all the shots. The SPK will be nothing without him.″

″Sure. But, are you want me to?″ Ryuk asked. ″You seemed pretty close to Near.″

I shut my eyes and exhaled deeply, trying to regain my thoughts. ″Please. Just do it. I'm desperate at the moment. Mine and Near's friendship will have to continue in a different world.″

Ryuk nodded and flew off, leaving me to deal with this myself. I ran into an abandoned building, just in time, and pulled out my phone.

″Hello?″ the voice asked over the phone.

″Mello, I need you.″

_--_

″Well, well, well, look who decided to come crawling back to good ol' Mello.″ Mello said as I walked in through the doors of the Yellow Box warehouse. It was abandoned, and only him and his mafia members were in here. They used it as a hideout from the cops.

″Mello, at the moment, you are my last resort.″ I admitted, sighing heavily. Mello pushed away his partners and grabbed my chin, lifting my eyes so that they stared into his.

″Why should I help you...?″ he glared, sending shivers down my spine. ″You obviously don't like me, and haven't done anything for me.″

I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists. ″Look, just help me out, please! I really don't need to feel any worse than I do now.″

″How about this...″ he said, letting go of me and shoving one hand into his pocket. ″You give me the death note, the _real _death note, and I'll help you out with anything you need.″

Mello was smirking widely, and his eyes were narrowed and beady. ″Mello, that's a stupid deal! Even I know the moment I hand over the death note, you'll just kill me!″

″Who says?″ he asked, chuckling.

″Please, Mello.″ I pleaded. ″Help me.″ I was getting to him, I could tell. He was going to give in if I just said one more intriguing thing.

There was a long pause.

″If you help me out, I'll let you assist me in my reign as Kira.″

_Jesus, Midori !! If you keep lying, you're going to get yourself killed !!_

Mello contemplated the idea, while his mafia members crowded around us, Mello and I standing in the middle of the circle. ″Hmm, how about-- you rip out half of the death notes pages and give them to me. Take it or leave it.″

Another pause. ″...Fine. But _after _you help me out.″ I said, grabbing his arm and leading him to the door. He stopped and grabbed my arm instead, pulling me into him.

″Woah, woah, woah, girlie.″ he said, staring into my eyes and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. ″You'll give me the pages now, or it's no deal.″

I glared menacingly. I was already risking my life at the moment, I didn't need my chances of dying to increase. ″...Okay, but you get no pen or pencil.″ I opened the death note and ripped out half the pages held within it, handing them over to Mello.

″Good. Now, what did you need help with?″ Mello asked, tucking the loose pages away into his jacket.

″I need you to help me bust out Mikami from the prison system in downtown.″ I said, grabbing his arm again and leading him out of the warehouse. ″He was arrested two nights ago.″

″Hold on, I have a better idea.″ Mello said, stopping again and rubbing his chin.

″Mello, no, I don't--″

″My boys will head over to the prison, release Mikami, and return back here, while you and I head over to SPK headquarters and lead those idiots here, too.″ Mello explained, smirking. ″That way, we can get rid of the entire team once and for all. Kira can eliminate all of them.″

″...All of them...″ I repeated, dumbfounded by the plan. It was smart, I had to admit, but why did Mello want to tag along with me at SPK headquarters...?

″Good. Head out !!″ Mello demanded, running out of the warehouse in all different directions. He and I remained, but he quickly grabbed my hand and lead me into a Mercedes-Benz, the same one I had to jump out of to escape from Mello.

″Mello... I still hate you.″ I said, eerily.

″It's a mutual feeling.″


	10. Road block

We pulled up at SPK headquarters, Mello and I. He stopped the car and turned it off, looking around me at the large, skyscraper building. ″...Are you ready?″ he asked, smirking and loading a pistol.

I took a deep breath, exhaled, and loaded my gun as well. I still had Matsuda's pistol, and I figured it'd finally be put to good use. Mello stepped out of the car and ran in first, as I slowly followed him in.

No one was in the lobby, or the first floor for that matter. The lobby was the police unit, and they were all out looking for me, so of course no cops would be at SPK headquarters. I ran to the stairs and climbed them three at a time, until I stopped when I heard a pounding.

It continued to sound, and then I realized that I had pushed Matsuda in the storage closet a few hours ago. ″HELP!! PLEASE, SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!!″ he screamed, pounding even louder. I unlocked the door, held my gun in position, and swung open the storage closet. Matsuda stumbled forward and his forehead connected with the barrel of my gun.

Surprisingly though, he had another gun of his own. His spare. And it was pointed at my head.

He froze. I could only imagine what was going on in his head. His own sister was holding a gun to his head, threatening to shoot. ″I-Is that... is that my gun?″ he asked, staring directly into my eyes.

I really hoped that Matsuda wouldn't shoot me. There was no way I could shoot him, of all people. Matsuda was my older brother, the only one who understood me. ″Yes. It is your gun.″ I said, calmly.

″P-Put down your gun...″ He was shaking like a leaf, and his brown eyes were slowly losing colour.

″Put yours down!″ I shot back, glaring.

″Midori, listen to me...″ he said, looking into my eyes. ″If you don't drop your gun, I'm gonna have to arrest you for assault. I don't want to do that.″

I covered his mouth and sat on my knees, Matsuda doing the same. My heart was pounding, and I finally lost control. ″Matsuda...″ I whispered, keeping the gun locked on his forehead. "What's gonna happen--"

″Midori, don't―don't you worry.″ he said, shaking even more. ″I―I won't let anything happen to you, but you have to tell me one thing.″

″...Yes?″

″Are you Kira...?″ he asked, swallowing a lump in his throat and gripping his gun tighter.

Pause. Another long pause. ″I...I don't know.″

_I don't even know if I'm Kira...?_

″You don't know?!″ he said, obviously not believing my alibi. ″How do you not know!?″ He was yelling now, and I was terrified.

″Matsuda, it's difficult...″ I said, quietly.

″Difficult? Difficult!?″ he repeated, his face turning red. ″I'll tell you what's difficult, Midori. Being the sibling of a killer! That's what's difficult!″

I shut my eyes and trembled a bit, scared of my older brother yelling at me and holding a gun to my head. ″Stop yelling at me! Matsuda, Jesus, calm the hell down!″

He sighed heavily and dead into my eyes, like father did when he was angry. ″Midori, what's going on...? I'm your brother, just tell me what's happening.″

″She must be down here!″ someone called from above. ″Go down the staircase with caution! Now! Go, go, go!!″ I quickly stood up and ran down the away from the cops. Matsuda stood up and inched to follow me, but decided against it.

I ran back outside and into Mello's car. wasn't there yet, so I dove in and waited patiently in the passenger seat. My mind was racing, and I kept trying to catch my breath and calm myself down, but Matsuda kept popping up in my head. ″God damn...″

In one split second, I looked up and out the window to see Mello sprinting with something in his arms. As he got closer, the object became clearer, until I finally realized who it was. Mello was carrying Kiyomi Takada in his arms.

He threw her in the backseat and hopped around to the front, speeding off onto the highway. ″Mello, are you crazy, what the hell is she doing in here!?″ I spat, feeling the venom in my tone.

″She's just--″

″I want her out! Gimme your gun, Mello.″ I demanded, holding out my hand. ″If you won't kill her, I will.″

″Midori, calm down.″ Mello said, shooting me a glance. ″She's the police's motivation for chasing us. As long as we have Ms. Takada, they'll keep chasing us.″

I glared menacingly at Takada in the backseat, while she kept her gaze on me. If it were up to me, she'd be dead by now. All she is is a stupid girl who uses her looks to get everything she wants. Just like Misa Amane.

″Just drive...″ I demanded. increased his speed as multiple units chasing after us. I received a text and peered down at my phone, frightened to look at the caller ID.

**It's not to late to just turn around and  
****turn yourself in, Midori.**

Matsuda. Always he tried too hard. If I turned myself in now, I'd surely receive the death penalty. Although, either way I was guaranteed dead. I glanced at Mello, who kept his gaze away from mine.

**Sorry, Matsuda. I'm not a person who  
****likes to give up.**

Send. ″Midori, how many rounds do you have in your gun?″ Mello asked, pointing to Matsuda's pistol. I popped it open and stared into the clip.

″What the...?″ There was nothing in the barrel. I bet Matsuda knew that back at the storage closet...

″What?″

″...There's nothing in here.″ I bet Matsuda knew that back at the storage closet. Damn you Matsuda.

**Fine. Then we'll just have to see what  
happens. There's still a chance.**

Matsuda texted me again. It was hard to tell whether or not he was with me or against me. ″Well, you better get some ammo. If we're going to go through with this plan, 'll want all the ammo you can get.″

What 'plan'? This 'plan' was the same plan that he and Matt thought up almost seven years ago, and look what happened to Matt. Never did I like Mello, mostly because it was his fault that Matt had died.

**Don't trust that things will ever  
****change, Matsuda.  
****They don't.**

″Hey, get your nose out of your phone and pay attention!″ Mello said, weaving in between cars. I glanced at his speedometer, and noticed that he was exceeding the speed limit...By 30 MPH.

″Mello, slow down.″ I demanded, glaring. ″You're going to get us killed!″

Mello quickly turned his head and shot me a threatening look, his eyes diverting the road. ″Shut the hell up, Midori !!″ he said. ″I'm about this close from pushing you out of the goddamn car!!″

″Go ahead!!″ I yelled. ″I've already fell out of your car before! I figure it won't be any different!″ He stopped when he realized that I was fighting back. Finally I wasn't afraid to yell back at someone yelling at me.

He turned his gaze back to the dark and rainy road, but glanced frequently into the rear view mirror to look at and the cops chasing us. I noticed Matsuda poking out of the window with a gun in his hands, aiming at Mello's car. Several more policemen did the same.

They shot at the car as I ducked and held my head, protecting myself. The rear window cracked and finally broke into shards and soon, so did the front window. Mello didn't duck, for he was driving, but he made a sharp turn, which caused the car to ride on two wheels for a brief moment.

″MELLO, STOP NOW! YOU'RE GOING TO_--″  
_

I spotted a large truck headed straight for us. Mello kept going, full speed, but time seemed to be slowing down rapidly. My mouth was opened, and I knew I was screaming, but no sound was made.

We collided with the truck, and at that moment, time returned to normal flow. The hood of the truck flew up into the sky and a loud crash was made. Something drove through my shoulder, piercing my arm, as I yelped in pain. The man in the truck was immediately dead, but, somehow, Mello and I were still alive.

I glanced slowly over at Mello, my eyelids heavy and my breathing slowing, who was perfectly fine. Mello only had a few scratches. He quickly kicked open his door, left me in the car, and stepped out, running like a coward away from the cops.

Painfully I reached for the door on my side, but I couldn't open it. I leaned helplessly against the door and felt my heart slowing. Of course, I knew I wasn't going to die, it was only a deep wound, but I wanted to die. I wanted to end it all.

_It hurts so much... What do I do...?_

The door suddenly swung open and I fell out of the car, my body colliding with the asphalt. I moaned in pain and felt someone grab me and hold me tightly in their grip. held me in a threatening way, and a cold piece of metal met with my head.

Numerous cops stood in front of Mello and I. When Takada burst out of the car crying and screaming for help, Mello didn't even seem to notice. He kept his eye on the prize; the cops. If he could kill the policemen, and several of the detectives, he'd be golden.

Nothing would stand in his way.

A multitude of the cops raised their guns and threatened to shoot, but something held them back. Someone held them back. Although I was delusional and could hardly see due to the rain and dark sky, I knew who was protecting me from gun fire.

My friend, my family, my brother, Matsuda.

″Stop! You can't shoot!″ he yelled, waving his arms frantically. ″You could hit the hostage! If you do that, what happens then?″

″There's no other option.″ one of them said, loading their gun. ″We have to stop Mello, no matter what. That was Near's orders.″

Near? Near was still alive?! I thought I told Ryuk to get rid of him.

Shots were fired, but from the cops. Mello shot back, but he was no match for sixteen armed police. I managed not to get hit by a bullet, but I felt Mello's grip loosen and his eyes widen. He fell to the dark wet ground with blood spilling from his head.

I looked behind me and noticed Takada with a loaded pistol, smoke rising from the end of the barrel. She had shot Mello, and now threatened to shoot me. ″Takada, d-drop the gun.″

″Shut up! I'm in control now.″ she said, smirking. ″If you don't do exactly as I say, I'll kill--″ She stopped suddenly and her eyes went wide, the color draining. I noticed that she wasn't having a heart attack, but she slowly reached for my waist pocket.

I flinched, but realized that she was grabbing the lighter in my possession. Matt's old lighter, that I always carried around. She flicked it and made a flame appear, but instead of lighting the paper in her hand on fire, she lit her coat on fire. It quickly engulfed in flames and I took a step back to shield myself from the heat.

″Takada!!″ one of her body guards shouted. He pushed me out of the way and onto the ground as he tried to put out the flames on Takada. It was no use though, and I knew that from the start. Someone had wrote down Takada's name in the death note, which was why there was no way of saving her.

I used this as my chance to steal one of the sports bikes that lay on the ground, one like Kat's, and sped down the highway. Cops quickly followed me, but couldn't keep up. I smirked as I drove and flipped open my cell phone, quicklydialing numbers.

″Mikami, lets go.″

_--_

I weaved in and out of traffic in the dead of night, about five or six police behind me. They finally caught up, pursuing me and not wanting to give up. One of the cops shot at the car, trying to give me a flat, but they only hit the rear window, little tiny shards of glass flying forward towards me.

An 4-way intersection was coming up, which I figured was my only chance to get rid of the police. I sped up, going almost 90MPH, down the highway. The intersection was only a couple of seconds away, and the cops had stopped, knowing that if I'd never make it, neither would they.

Time slowed as I drove through the intersection. Ignoring a few close calls, I made it through and drove back to the Yellow Box warehouse, where Mikami should have been waiting. I pulled the car over to the curb and sprinted inside, noticing Mikami upstairs pointing up to the air vents.

″Come on, Midori !″ he yelled, jumping and pulling himself inside. I ran up to him and did the same, following him closely behind in the rafters. It was dark in the air vents, but it was our only chance of escaping.

″Mikami, slow down.″ I said, reaching out. He stopped as I ran into him. Mikami turned around and faced me, cocking an eyebrow and asking why we stopped. ″Will this hold us bo--″

″Where's your engagement ring?″ he asked, pointing to my bare ring finger. I hesitated to answer, but came up with a good excuse.

″It's at home. I didn't want to lose it.″

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and opened his mouth to speak, but something stopped him. A loud noise was made from behind me, like metal clanging. Someone else was in the air vent. ″Fuck, come on, we have to move.″

He crawled forward as I followed, but he suddenly stopped again. ″What is it this--″

Matsuda was face to face with Mikami. ″You two, turn around and turn yourselves in, or I'll be forced to shoot!″ he demanded, aiming his gun.

No, he wouldn't shoot, would he? I mean, I'm his sist--

There was a snap, and all three of us exchanged glances. ″What was that...?″ I asked, my voice trembling. The answer soon came to us.

The front end of the vent broke, turning it into a long slide. I slid down first, Mikami following, and Matsuda the last to fall. All of us screamed on our way down, and it looked like there was no way out of it. Because Matsuda was going to be the last to fall, he could easily arrest us.

I reached the end first, falling flat on my stomach. Mikami landed on top of me and Matsuda on top of him. Desperately I tried to crawl out from under them, but I stopped when I noticed the people in front of me. Near was sitting with his action figures and other police from the SPK behind him.

″Oh shit.″

Mikami was thrown off of me, arrested, and thrown back onto the ground. I quickly got up and ran throughout the warehouse, shots from the SPK members guns aimed at me. My hands ran over the power switch, and I turned off all the lights in the warehouse.

Now I had the upper hand again, but not for long. I felt someone tackle me, grab me, and put a piece of metal to my head.

″Midori, don't make me...″ Matsuda held the gun to my head, threatening to shoot.

And he was serious this time.


	11. Quit Running From The End

″Matsuda, get the hell off of me!″ I yelled furiously, trying to squirm out of his grip.

″No! I'm arresting you once and for all!″ he spat back, pinning me to the ground. ″If you're willing to cut your life short, then let me help you!″ I was running out of solutions. What the hell was I supposed to do?! I did the only thing that came to mind.

I brought back my arm, curled my hand in a fist, and punched my brother square in the jaw. He fell off of me as I ran back downstairs in front of all the SPK members, silently. Guns were fired again, though, and only a few connected with my body.

The SPK was going to shoot anyone, no matter who they were, just to get to Kira.

I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the names of three SPK members in my own blood, for I had no other writing utensil. They dropped to their knees forty seconds later from cardiac arrest. I smirked widely, and laughed maniacally, feeling the blood in my body boil.

Being Kira felt like... It felt like a privilege.

I pulled out Matsuda's gun, which was still empty, and aimed at the SPK members, hoping they wouldn't know that it was empty. ″If you think I'll go down this easy, you've got another thing coming!!″ I yelled, smirking.

″Midori, it's a shame that you turned out to be Kira.″ Near said, knocking down an action figure that looked like me with the word 'KIRA' pained on it. ″However, I can't say that I'm surprised.″

I laughed again, but only a small chuckle. ″Well, then. I'll take that as a compliment.″ I said, aiming my gun at Near. ″Because I truly _am_ Kira, it must mean that I am strong, determined, and a Goddess.″

Near only laughed softly to himself, as if I were completely wrong. ″No, that's incorrect, Midori.″ he said, grabbing an action figure. ″You see, Kira is a menace. Kira is a greedy, over confident, stupid maniac who thinks that by killing the bad people, he's doing nothing wrong.″

I glared menacingly at Near, who only stared right back at me through the darkness. Looking at him made me feel as if there was no one else in the warehouse. To me, it was just me and him staring at each other in an alternate universe.

″What ever happened to the man who saved me from a heart attack seven years ago...?″ I asked, softly whispering. My blood was boiling again, and Near could tell.

″He won.″ Near replied simply.

Now I was shaking from the anger growing in me. I threw my empty gun in Near's direction and sprinted towards him, threatening to lunge at him and kill him. Before I could reach him though, I was shot again. Once in the chest, twice in the arm, and four times in the shoulder.

I yelped in pain and dropped to the floor, my own puddle of blood forming from my wounds. ″YOU ASSHOLES!!″ I screamed in pain, lifting myself slowly up from the ground. "Hold your fucking fire!!"

The lights turned back on and Matsuda aimed at me from upstairs. I turned around and stood a bit hunched from the pain in my body and challenged my brother.

″Go on, Matsuda!″ I yelled, my body tender and shaking. ″Shoot me! Lets see if you have the--″

A bullet hit me, from Matsuda's gun, right in my chest. I flinched and was pushed backwards a bit from the blow, but kept standing. Calikarcha appeared in front of me, his eyes beaming red. ″Lookie here... It's finally time for me to kill you.″

My eyes widened when I remembered what Calikarcha said.

_″If anyone's going to kill you, it'll be me. But, like Mello said, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to kill you just yet. It's not in my keen sense of generosity to do it yet. I'll give you awhile...″_

That time was now?! No, I wouldn't let it happen. Not yet. I grabbed another slip of paper and wrote down Matsuda's name in my blood, waiting anxiously for the forty seconds to pass.

Again I was shot, several times in the leg, the arms, the chest, and finally, someone had shot me in the neck. I felt the blood drip from the artery as I fell to the floor, my breathing slowly fading. It was too soon for Kira to die. I couldn't end like this.

I gained every last strength in my body and crawled up the stairs to Matsuda, grabbing his leg and trying to get him to kneel. He did, giving me one last moment of my life to say goodbye. ″M-Matsuda...″ tears started falling down my cheeks as I noticed Matsuda crying too.

″Mariya, please don't--″

″Don't call...call me that...″ I interrupted, burying my head in Matsuda's leg. I sobbed tears that wouldn't stop falling. Matsuda's tears dropped on me, and I could tell he was scared to touch me.

″...You...You wrote my name down...didn't you?″ he asked, his voice trembling.

I nodded slowly and gripped my brother tightly. I hid my face and my eyes as he flinched and dropped his gun, his body slowly decaying. ″Matsuda... I'm...I'm so sorry...″

″As far as I'm concerned...you...you did this to yourself.″ Matsuda said, yelping in pain. ″And, no matter how many times...you say sorry...you can never take it back...″

Ambulances and paramedics ran through the doors to the warehouse and up to Matsuda and I, attending to our wounds. They took away Matsuda and placed me in a black body bag, knowing that I'd die. In the last seconds I saw Matsuda, I reached out to grab his hand.

He just stared at me, clenching his chest with his hand. My brother was ashamed that I was Kira, and wanted nothing to do with me anymore. The paramedics slowly zipped up the body bag as I felt my eyelids slowly closing, my life gone and the medics carrying me out to the ambulance.

Matsuda never grabbed my hand.

--

**Matsuda's POV:**

_This was the scene here at the Yellow Box warehouse as the SPK and several members in Japan on the Task Force successfully executed Kira. There are three members of the SPK announced dead and two injured. Mikami Teru, one of the earlier Kira's, is sentenced to life in prison without parole._

The anchorwoman showed an aerial pof Yellow Box warehouse, blood and bullets everywhere. I lay in my bed in the hospital flipping through the channels on the small square T.V. On every station there was news about Kira's execution.

On every station there was a picture of my sister.

My friend, my family, my sister.

I remembered her reaching out to grab my hand as the paramedics placed her in that black death bag, the one where they place dead bodies. She wasn't dead, but she was dying. Why didn't I grab her hand...?

I don't know.

All I know is that she's gone, and I'll never see her again. I've seen the death note, I've done a thorough search, I've read the rules. However, that was seven years ago when I read Light Yagami's death note. The rules could have changed for all I know.

But, for now, people who possess the death note, can neither go to heaven, nor hell.

_Mariya, otherwise known as 'Midori' was shot almost thirty times, counting several wounds in her arms, legs, and chest. However, the shot that executed Mariya was in the neck, where the bullet hit her artery. It was an amazement to the SPK members that she survived that many shots for that long._

No. I didn't shoot my sister in the neck.

I shot Kira in the neck. I killed Kira, not my sister.

There was a knock at the door as Near walked in and took a seat beside me on the hospital bed. ″How are you feeling, Matsuda?″ he asked, his voice monotone.

I nodded, quickly wiping away my tears so that Near wouldn't think of me as weak and emotional. ″I'm okay. Really. There's no need to worry.″ I gave him a small smile to reassure him, but it quickly disappeared.

″Matsuda, you don't have to hide your tears.″ he said, simply. ″You lost your sister. That's reason enough to cry. I wouldn't think any different of you if you shed tears.″

Was that...emotion...in his voice?

I stared at Near and felt tears swelling in my eyes. ″Near... I hate being so weak.″ Tears cascaded down my cheeks and I sobbed quietly. Near placed a hand on my shoulder and patted it a few times, but it wasn't at all comforting. The only person I knew who could comfort me well was Mariya.

″Perhaps you should think about resigning as a cop.″ Near suggested. ″It'd be in your best in--″

″No.″ I replied quickly, wiping my tears again. ″I'm not resigning.″

″Then take a few months or so off.″ Near said, looking dead into my eyes. ″Learn to live and forget.″

I stared down at the shiny floor of the hospital. Never would I learn to forget this mishap. Twice it had happened, but only once it had taken my sister. ″Yes, sir...″ I said, simply.

Near stood up to walk out and shut the door behind him. Once he did, tears swelled up again. I glanced at the clock and noticed that it read 12:08AM and 30 seconds.

Suddenly, I reached over to the plug in the wall where my heart attack rejuvenator was plugged in. I grabbed the cord and counted to three. On three, I pulled out the cord, and waited for my heart to stop. One last time I glanced at the clock as it read 12:08 and 40 seconds.

I have nothing to live for in this world anymore. If Midori isn't here, I shouldn't be either.

--

**Nears POV:**

″His time of death was 12:08:49AM.″ the doctor told me, holding the clipboard. ″Somehow the heart attack rejuvenator failed. I'm sorry.″

I stared up at the doctor, for he was a few inches taller than me. ″Would you mind if I went in to say my prayers?″ I asked. I wasn't religious, and I didn't pray, but I needed some excuse to get into the room.

″Certainly.″

I walked in and looked around the room, but the first thing I noticed was Matsuda's limp body. He was leaned over the bed. I picked him up and set him easily upright in his bed and folded his hands, as if he were in a peaceful slumber.

My foot caught on something as I looked down and saw a loose cord. I bent down and picked it up and traced it to the heart attack rejuvenator, then peered over at Matsuda.

″Oh, Matsuda...″ I said, softly. ″Why did you do that...?″

I dropped the cord and sat on the chair, surveying Matsuda. I pulled out the piece of paper I found in Mariya's hand and read it to myself for the first time.

Matsuda Tota.  
December 22nd, 2015  
12:08 AM  
Suicide  
After his sister dies at Yellow Box, he comes to the realization  
that he has nothing else to live for. He commits suicide in the  
hospital by pulling out his rejuvenator.

So Mariya killed her own brother?I sighed heavily and threw away the piece of paper in the trash bin next to Matsuda's bed. truly is a menace.

I stood up and walked out of the room, catching one last glimpse of Matsuda before I slowly shut the door behind me.


End file.
